Anthony Davis trade: What’s going on from the New Orleans Pelicans’ side?

Everyone has been focused on the Los Angeles Lakers side of the Anthony Davis trade, but we will take a look at things from another perspective.

The Los Angeles Lakers pulled out a victory over their cross locker rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers 123-120 in overtime. LeBron James made his return after 17 games from injury, but doesn’t it seem anti-climatic at this point? Almost like no one cares?

The only real thing in interest these days is the fast break that is going on in the front office with Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka pushing all of their chips in to pry Anthony Davis out of New Orleans before the Boston Celtics can open the vault in the summer.

Since Monday, every expert and wannabe GM has spent time on social media giving unsolicited advice. After a while, that can get just as irritating as hearing the same old, same old, so I came up with an idea.

Why not see what is going on in the Pelicans’ world! I mean, the Lakers websites and blogs can give you what the can offer. But can they give you insight on what the Pelicans are looking for?

I called out to an old friend of mine, David Grubb, who could help share the view on the New Orleans side of the negotiations.

In 2013, he joined the team at SportsNOLA.com as a contributor before working his way up to cover the New Orleans Pelicans.

David is currently a featured columnist for CrescentCitySports.com as well as The Bird Writes for SB Nation. He is a regular contributor to “The Bird Calls,” a weekly podcast covering the Pelicans.

Along with being a regular on Sports 1280 AM in New Orleans, he has also been a fill-in host for “The D-League” (Sports 1280 AM) and “Sport-a-facts” (WBOK) and is a regular guest on a number of sports talk shows in the New Orleans area.

In short, if there is anyone that would have insight on what is going on behind the propaganda and false rumors, David Grubb is the man.

I asked him a few questions on what is the atmosphere going on down in New Orleans.

What was the vibe when it was official that Anthony Davis wanted out?

David Grubb:

"For a lot of us in the media, it wasn’t an unexpected development. There had been buzz for more than two years that AD’s former representation had encouraged him to seek a trade to another market. The fear of that was heightened for fans as soon as Davis signed with Klutch Sports. Most people thought that the prospect of the Super Max contract was more than enough to keep him in New Orleans, so when it was announced on Monday that he had requested a trade, I believe a lot of  people felt betrayed. Honestly, you come across fans who are going through the stages of grief about this. There is anger and denial, but also there are plenty of fans who are just glad that this whole saga will be coming to an end soon. The largest portion of the fan base’s anger is directed towards ownership and management. People are upset that seven seasons were essentially wasted because of some horrible decisions."

To piggyback on what David said, there was a source close to Anthony Davis reported by The Athletic’s Sam Amick mentioning the following.

"“the idea that the Pelicans were less of a priority to ownership than the Saints has been a growing concern.”"

This is something that Pelicans head coach, Alvin Gentry strongly denies.

"“That’s the furthest thing from the truth, and if you don’t believe me, I’ll take all you guys to the practice facility, and you go visit any other one in the NBA, and you tell me that it’s not as good as any other place in the NBA,” Gentry said after Wednesday’s game. “To say that (the Pelicans are second-class citizens) is really disrespectful.” “All this stuff to me, to be honest, it really pisses me off. … ’Cause you should ask us if we feel like second-class citizens, and I can tell you right now that’s the furthest thing from the truth. There’s nothing that we ask for or want that Mrs. (Benson) won’t give us to try and help us win games."

Maybe the issue lies with the fact that the Benson family has the General Manager of the football Saints, Mickey Loomis, doing double duty running things in the Pelicans front office.

Not saying he can’t do both. It’s just unusual.

Describe the pressure of Dell Demps being the guy on the hot seat to make the best possible deal for the franchise. 

David Grubb:

"Dell is under a tremendous amount of pressure, but just how much is hard to gauge because the Pelicans are a notoriously private organization. From a public standpoint, there is no confidence that Dell should be the person in charge of making any more changes to the roster. However, the organization won’t fire him during the season. The one thing that we do know is that ownership is insistent that AD will not go to Los Angeles."

Uh oh! If what David Grubb says is true, we are getting tantalizingly close to what the Minnesota Timberwolves were dealing with when Tom Thibodeau was fielding offers for Jimmy Butler after it was clear that his future with the franchise was short. Ownership took over made a deal and fired Thibodeau coincidentally after blowing out the Lakers.

I can easily see the ownership group making sure that Anthony Davis does not get traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. They were not fans of Davis’ decision to fire his agent and hire Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group. With LeBron James being Paul’s best friend and most prized client. It’s not that hard for New Orleans to put two and two together.

What David is talking about is co-signed right here via The Crossover.

"New Orleans expected this. Maybe not in late January, less than two weeks before the Feb. 7 trade deadline, but the Pelicans expected it. When Davis linked up with Paul—the agent for LeBron James, who has specialized in recent years at steering his other clients toward teams LeBron plays on—they knew Davis’s days there were numbered. It’s why last summer several people in the organization tried to steer Davis away from Paul, two sources close to the situation told The Crossover."

Now it’s about what you believe. Based on what David Grubb is saying, ownership will not deal with the Lakers. If Dell Demps wants to keep his job…

These scenarios…

Don’t matter if ownership feels betrayed.

If you are Dell Demps and I’m Magic Johnson, what do you want? 

David Grubb:

"I want more than what you may have to give. The Pelicans are demanding a star talent in return right now and no one on the Lakers seems to fit that bill. Kyle Kuzma is probably the most complete player being offered, but he isn’t a franchise cornerstone. Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Ivica Zubac still have to develop, and Ball has already stated that he doesn’t want to come to New Orleans. The Lakers don’t have great draft picks to offer either. New Orleans doesn’t want a lengthy rebuild and the Lakers’ best packages all require patience. There has been no word up to this point about any progress. Of course, the national media has reported that Rob Pelinka has told Demps that the offer they make today will not be available at the end of the season. The Pelicans won’t be moved by that threat. There is real animosity between the two front offices right now."

Well, Lake Show Life has already dealt with Lonzo’s reluctance to go to New Orleans.

Lakers Rumors: Lonzo Ball prefers Chicago or New York if traded

Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors involve Lonzo Ball, who would prefer to land in Chicago or New York should he be traded by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Plus, with him being out for the immediate future with that serious ankle injury he suffered against the Houston Rockets, I’m not sure that Dell Demps can sell a disgruntled point guard with a severely sprained ankle in any package to the owners and the front office for a top-3 player like Anthony Davis.

The assets race with the Boston Celtics gives the Lakers, as of this writing, less than a one week start. The Lakers are chasing the ghost of Danny Ainge and the treasure chest of draft picks and more established players such as Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier and Jayson Tatum.

That’s just starters. The Lakers know that.

Do you think this is a Chris Paul saga all over again? 

David Grubb:

"This is nothing like what happened with Chris Paul. To go back to that time, people have to remember that George Shinn was cash poor. He had been searching for a local ownership partner but no one had stepped forward. After the then-Hornets lost to the Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals in 2008, Shinn tried to dismantle the team to save money. First he tried to send Tyson Chandler to Oklahoma City because he said Chandler was done as a player. Here we are almost 11 years later and Chandler is still playing. Then the team failed to sign David West to an extension. Those moves signaled to CP3 that the team wasn’t trying to win. Shortly thereafter Shinn sold the franchise to the NBA, and Demps had to trade him. In this situation, there have been so many attempts to try to build a winning team that have just failed. Paul was angry when he left, Davis is frustrated. Interesting note, Chris Paul reportedly told Davis to get out of New Orleans 3-4 years ago."

To catch everyone up who doesn’t know the back story, the NBA vetoed a trade that would have brought Chris Paul to the Lakers in a three-team trade that included the Rockets. The deal was done and 45 minutes later, according to the New York Times, was dismissed by then NBA commissioner David Stern.

The six degrees of separation is priceless in this scenario as one owner spoke out. Oh, LeBron James knows him quite well…

Cleveland Cavaliers owner…Dan Gilbert.

"“I just don’t see how  we can allow this trade to happen,” Gilbert writes in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. “I cannot remember ever seeing a trade where a team got by far the best player in the trade and saved over $40 million in the process,” Gilbert writes.  “And it doesn’t appear that they would give up any draft picks, which might allow to later make a trade for Dwight Howard.” Gilbert also states, “I know the vast majority of owners feel the same way that I do.” He asks for a vote of “the 29 owners of the Hornets”"

It’s also amazing how things work out in the NBA. Just in October of last year, David Stern had his opinion on Demps.

Lousy!!!

From Chris Ballard.

"There was a trade that [New Orleans GM] Dell Demps wanted us to approve and I said heck no, but he had told [Rockets GM] Daryl Morey and [then Lakers GM] Mitch Kupchak he had authority to do it and he didn’t. I said no. We just settled a lockout and you want me to approve a basketball trade?” “[Demps] had agreed to trade Kevin Martin and Luis Scola or something, and I said we can do better than that…. And the next trade was [to the Clippers for] Eric Gordon and Al-Farouq Aminu and what we thought was a really great draft pick, the 10th pick, which turned out to be Austin Rivers. At least those three and someone else [center Chris Kaman]. But Dell Demps is a lousy general manager and none of those players are currently with the team anymore, and he may lose Anthony Davis.” Stern continues: “I did it because I was protecting the then Hornets…. To this day everyone always asks me, ‘Well why did you keep Chris Paul from going to the Lakers?’ I didn’t keep him. I didn’t approve the trade. No team sells or trades a future Hall of Famer without the owner signing off, and I was the owner’s rep. But I wasn’t going to hand up Dell Demps.”"

For Demps, it’s not the same as the Chris Paul trade…it’s worse!

The 64 cent question? Does this deal get done by Feb 7th? 

David Grubb:

"The short answer is no. There is no advantage for the Pelicans to make a deal before the trade deadline. If you have a generational talent like Davis on the block, you want as many bidders as possible. We all know what the Lakers and Celtics have, but there are some other candidates who could offer some very nice packages. The Knicks may have jumped to the front of the line after trading Kristaps Porzingis. New York could have more than $70 million in cap space this offseason to target two max players. If the Knicks were to win the lottery, they can offer potentially Zion Williamson, Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson, Frank Ntilikina and multiple first round draft picks. Though the Pelicans would prefer to send Davis to the Eastern Conference, Denver and Phoenix could both be interesting options. So, I don’t see Davis going anywhere before July 1."

There you have it from the other side of the negotiations table.