Less than 10 days ago, Anthony Davis requested a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans and there is still no resolution leading up to the 12 p.m. PT trade deadline on Thursday.
As Davis and agent Rich Paul did not initially provide the Pelicans with a list of potential trade destinations, the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, New York Knicks and Milwaukee Buckswere eventually identified as teams he would be willing to sign long-term contracts with.
While the Bucks are extremely limited in assembling a trade package, the Lakers reportedly offered five different scenarios. Meanwhile, the Clippers and Knicks have made some surprising trades to create cap space.
With the Lakers pessimistic about a potential Davis trade being completed by the deadline, he views them and the Knicks equally when it comes to long-term future, according to Marc Stein of New York Times:
Anthony Davis has the Knicks on equal footing with the Lakers in terms of teams he is interested in signing with long-term, @NYTSports has learned. The Clippers and Bucks also remain preferred destinations on his list
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 7, 2019
In the first major trade leading up to the deadline, the Knicks traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks for Dennis Smith Jr. and expiring contracts. While it was a shocking development, New York created two max-contract slots for 2019 free agency and they have already been linked to Davis, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
For the Lakers, there is an urgency to trade for Davis now. Along with the Boston Celtics having the necessary assets come July 1, it is unclear if a second All-Star player will sign with the Lakers even if they have $38 million in salary cap space available.
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