Kevin Durant injury gives Pelicans more leverage with Anthony Davis
Kevin Durant‘s horrible injury in Game 5 of the NBA Finals creates a lack of superstars on the market this summer. This could make Anthony Davis‘ trade return an even better haul for the New Orleans Pelicans.
The New Orleans Pelicans are going to trade away Anthony Davis any day now. Before Monday night, it was likely that Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors would be finding a new team himself. Given that KD is a bigger star than AD, it stands to reason that several teams might not even be willing to jump into the Anthony Davis Sweepstakes until they for sure know they’re out of the running for Durant.
However. all of this is now completely out the window. In a very unfortunate turn of events in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, Kevin Durant suffered a major lower body injury, which is more than likely a ruptured Achilles Tendon.
Golden State’s Kevin Durant is traveling to New York for doctor evaluations on his injured right Achilles tendon, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 11, 2019
This is terrible news for KD, who was assumed to be foregoing the final year of his contract with the Warriors in order to get the biggest contract possible from the team of his choice in free agency. It cannot be understated how heartbreaking this is from a perspective of a normal NBA fan. Durant is one of the best to ever play the game, and the league is worse without him. Hopefully his recovery is speedy and smooth.
In the meantime, this situation does probably benefit the New Orleans Pelicans. It feels a bit slimy to discuss, but it’s true. To be sure, no one should be celebrating Kevin Durant’s injury (looking at you, Raptors fans), but objectively, this situation changes what’s going to happen around the NBA this summer drastically.
For an easy example, let’s look at the Brooklyn Nets, a team that seems ready to make major moves in the next month or two. They’re really going to go after a guy like Kyrie Irving, and the idea was the possibly try pair a second superstar next to him, such as a Kevin Durant. Now that KD is sidelined for (likely) a long, long time, a team like Brooklyn will now immediately be looking for another all-star to bring aboard next to Kyrie Irving. Enter, Anthony Davis.
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This scenario is going to get many more teams hot on the trail for Anthony Davis’ services since their Plan A (Durant) is now probably out of commission for a while. It’s a terrible situation for Kevin Durant, but for the New Orleans Pelicans, any ounce of leverage they can build up in the next few weeks could make all the difference they need to pull off the perfect trade.