While the NBA season gears up for the 2021 playoffs, the NFL is in the heart of their offseason. Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis’ favorite team — the Green Bay Packers — received shocking news when it was announced that quarterback Aaron Rodgers did not want to return to the team and would even consider retirement before playing for them in 2021.
Trade requests in the NBA have gone on for some time, as it feels like every season at least one or two star players demand to be traded from their team. However, this is a relatively new phenomenon in football, as the current offseason has been filled with unprecedented quarterback movement, including Matthew Stafford going to the L.A. Rams.
Davis — while clearly unhappy with his favorite team losing their quarterback — said he understood where Rodgers was coming from, via a live stream on his Twitch:
“Man, I don’t want to talk about Aaron Rodgers right now. Come on chat, don’t do that to me. I thought we were better than that. You know how I feel about that… But if anybody understands, you know I understand.”
While Davis didn’t offer much in terms of his feelings on Rodgers wanting out, he did hint at the end that he was on Rodgers’ side, as he had the same experiences. Davis very publicly wanted a trade away from the New Orleans Pelicans after years of failing to contend for a championship.
Davis, after enough time of standing by his request, ultimately got traded to the exact team he wanted — the Lakers — and won a championship in his first season.
Although Rodgers already has a Super Bowl win in Green Bay, it has been a long time since the Packers have been there. They’ve had several chances, but have fallen short each and every time for various reasons. One of the final straws was using a first-round pick to draft Rodgers’ successor — Jordan Love — in 2020 instead of helping to build their current roster.
It could take Davis some time to wrap his head around the Packers not being a very competitive team in the near future, but at least he gets where Rodgers is coming from.
Davis doesn’t think about Achilles while playing
The Lakers star missed over two months recovering from a calf strain and Achilles tendinosis. After all of that, he said he doesn’t even think about the health of his Achilles anymore when he’s on the court.
“I think I’ve done enough in the past nine weeks to strengthen it where I don’t have to think about it so now I just go out there and focus on the game of basketball and helping the team win.”
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