Earlier today, Rich Paul - Anthony Davis’ agent - let it be known that AD will not sign an extension with the New Orleans Pelicans, forcing them to trade him or lose him to free agency with nothing in return. Paul is quoted as saying, “Anthony wants to be traded to a team that allows him the chance to win consistently and compete for a championship.” (Credit: Adrian Wojnarowski - @WojESPN)

I understand AD wanting to leave New Orleans. Since he joined the team, they have not built around him like a competent team would. They signed Dell Demps as the team’s General Manager in 2012 and it’s been rocky ever since. Trading every first round pick (or player selected) they’ve had since 2013 (they drafted Davis in 2012) has limited them in creating a young core that can age and improve together. Demps drafted Anthony Davis with his first move as GM for the team and immediately feared him leaving for a bigger market or better team in the future. Something to note: NBA teams have a draft pick for roughly 8 years after drafting them (3 years as a rookie before you can sign them to a five year extension but since they’re a restricted free agent, a great player's offer from another team will always be matched) so a generational big man like Davis is supposed to set your team up for years of success. That is not what Demps did.

He’s traded away youth and value for lesser pieces and overpaid bad players in free agency to put around Davis and force him to dominate every game for this team to win. He traded for Jrue Holiday and Demarcus Cousins to put around Davis but injuries have hurt both of them from playing consistently. Demps gave a 5-year, $131.8 million contract extension to an often-injured Holiday and let Demarcus Cousin leave in free agency after a season-ending Achilles tear. So beginning the season in 2018, the Pelicans were over the salary cap and outside of Davis and Holiday, the team was comprised of average role players.

Davis is a truly great player but forcing a player to exert himself the way Demps has forced Davis to do for the last few years, puts too much wear on his body and increased his likelihood for injuries - which Davis has had plenty of. The NBA season is already a hell of a grind and putting that much pressure on a player like Davis, has certainly factored into his decision to want out.

So what is New Orleans to do knowing that Davis will not resign with the Pelicans even though New Orleans can re-sign him to more money and more guaranteed years than any other team? The 5 year, ~$240 million Super Max deal is not enough to entice Davis to stay so desperately trading for someone to to add to the team is a fool’s errand. You must trade Davis away but there is a balance and timing to deals like this requires tact that Demps has not shown at any point in his tenure as GM. Davis still has a year left on his contract so many teams not on his “wish list” are still interested since they might be able to convince him to stay. The team that acquires Davis will be able to offer him an extra year and more money than anyone else can and that might be enough of an advantage to risk adding Davis to some teams.

*Important to mention: Even though Boston has the most value to offer New Orleans, they cannot trade for Davis while Kyrie Irving is on the roster due to the Rose Rule (Irving and Davis were both re-signed as “designated players” and no team can have more than one designated player on a roster). Irving is also on an expiring contract so the Pelicans would never take him in a trade since they can’t seem to convince people to stay with their team. So for now, Boston is out of the bidding war and the rest of the league has the next 10 days to blow New Orleans away with an offer and get Davis before Danny Ainge able to get him this offseason. (Once Kyrie is a free agent, he is no longer considered a “designated player” and the Rose Rule no longer applies to him.)

Every team should make an offer but many teams don’t have the talent that New Orleans should demand. Here are the teams that I think have the pieces to make a legitimate offer for AD:

Brooklyn Nets:

D’Angelo Russell, Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, Allen Crabbe, DeMarre Carroll, 2 unprotected 1st-Round Picks (2019 & 2021), and a Pick Swap for 2020 for Anthony Davis, Solomon Hill, and E’Twaun Moore.

D’Angelo Russell, Jarrett Allen, and Caris LeVert is a great young core for the Pelicans to put around Jrue Holiday and Nikola Miritic. Getting the expiring contracts of Allen Crabbe and DeMarre Carroll gives some much needed cap space to sign Miritic this off-season. Sending away Solomon Hill’s atrocious contract and getting (an inconsistent) E’Taun Moore’s contract off of the books is great. A starting five of D’Angelo Russell, Jrue Holiday, Caris LeVert, Nikola Miritic, and Jarrett Allen is a great group moving forward. Getting two unprotected 1st-rounders is the cherry on top. Getting Davis doesn’t guarantee that the Nets become a great team. Davis might leave and a depleted Nets team’s draft picks would be the most valuable thing in the entire league.
Having Davis allows the Nets to go after one (or more) of the big free agents this offseason (Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, etc) and build a title contender immediately.

Golden State Warriors:

Klay Thomspon, Draymond Green, Quinn Cook, Jacob Evans, and an unprotected 2019 1st-Round Pick for Anthony Davis and Solomon Hill.

Klay Thompson is one of the greatest shooters of all time and a great defender both on and off of the ball. He has added an aggression to his offensive game this year and pairing that with his movement off of the ball, he is ready to be the focal point of an offense. Draymond is one of the best facilitators in the league and Cook and Evans are promising young players. Their 1st round pick is just an added bonus. It will be at the end of the first round but it will be a cheap, young player that you can take a flyer on and hope for the best. Having Jrue Holiday, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Nikola Miritic is a fascinating foursome and Alvin Gentry was an assistant coach in Golden State before leaving for New Orleans so hopefully his rapport with Klay Thompson, the extra year and money is enough to sign Klay Thompson to an extension this offseason. It is a big gamble but if it works, it’d be a great way to avoid rebuilding in a market that already won’t show up to games.
Golden State is currently the greatest starting five of all time. Breaking that up seems ridiculous but starting Steph Curry, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and DeMarcus Cousins is still enough to win the title.

LA Clippers:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tobias Harris, Montrezl Harrell, Marcin Gortat, and 2 unprotected 1st-Round Picks (2019 & 2021) for Anthony Davis and Solomon Hill.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the brightest rookies in the league this year. He is a point guard that can easily pair with Jrue Holiday and allows Holiday to play his natural position at shooting guard. Tobias Harris is a great young player that has improved every year he has been in the league and being only 26 years old, he is a prime candidate for a max contract this offseason. The Pelicans should acquire him with the intention of signing him to a max deal. Montrezl Harrell is a great rebounder and is as willing as anyone in the NBA to bang under the basket and do the dirty work that every team needs. He can come off of the bench and breathe new life into the game every time he subs in. Gortat is an expiring contract and his $13 million comes off of the books this summer (I would release him immediately and continue to play the younger guys on the team instead).
The Clippers get the star they’ve wanted and now they can make a push for Durant, Leonard, Thompson, etc. in free agency this summer. Steve Ballmer wants to compete with the best of the league now and I don’t think he bought the Clippers wanting to build a contender from years of working the draft and player development. He wants to compete with the Lakers and become the dominant team in LA and that’s no small feat.

LA Lakers:

Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Ivica Zubac, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Beasley and an unprotected 2019 1st-Round Pick for Anthony Davis and Solomon Hill.

The Lakers have the 2nd best trove of players to offer New Orleans (1st being Boston) and since the Celtics can’t make a play for Davis until this summer, Magic Johnson and Rich Pelinka need to overwhelm New Orleans with a truly great package for Davis. Brandon Ingram has the most potential of any player the Lakers can offer. He is still only 20 years old and already has improved his playmaking and consistency as a jump shooter in his three years in the league. Playing with LeBron seemed to stunt his progress rather than accelerate it, so getting out of LA might be just what he needs to take his game to the next level. Kyle Kuzma is a streaky scorer that has a lot of upside. He can’t really defend like you’d like him to but a change of scenery might be what he needs to change his approach on the floor. He’s more aggressive than Ingram as a scorer and having him allows Ingram to play the finesse style he prefers with his slender frame and fluid style with the ball. Lonzo Ball is one of the best passers in the league with court vision as good as anyone that has played the game. He has a lot to improve on since his shooting is inconsistent and he has been injury-prone since entering the league, but he can run the offense without overdribbling and doesn’t demand shots while on the floor. Josh Hart is a great shooter and is the most underrated player in this trade. He is great on the catch-and-shoot, but needs to show he can do more on a consistent basis. Zubac has shown flashes of being a good center, but he’s still years away from being a regular starter in this league. Caldwell-Pope and Beasley are salary cap fodder and can be released immediately after the trade.
This crop of players (plus the Lakers’s 2019 1st round pick) allows the Pelicans to rebuild immediately and gives the city of New Orleans a young, exciting roster to watch as they continue to improve as players. New Orleans can’t seem to fill their stadium even with Davis on the roster, so a full rebuild from scratch is not a possibility. This trade allows them to compete for a playoff spot next season and gives them the freedom to let Miritic leave in free agency (and not overpay him like some team will) and possibly trade Jrue Holiday for another young player and/or a draft pick.
The Lakers have to make this proposal. Anything less is not enough to get Davis now. LeBron is 34 and wasting a year of his career and possibly not getting Davis is not an option. The reason they stockpiled this collection of players is for this exact purpose and not offering this package might allow Dell Demps to wait until the summer and see what Boston is willing to part with. Their collection of youth and the many draft picks they have is better than what the Lakers can offer so getting this deal done now is the most important thing for the Lakers as an organization. Pairing LeBron with AD makes you a title contender now, and adding a shooter like Klay Thompson this summer makes you the favorite. This is too important of a player to lose and after the Paul George fiasco, Magic needs to prove his worth to the organization and get this done before the trade deadline on February 7th.

Oklahoma City:

Paul George, Steven Adams, Jerami Grant, and 1st Round Pick Swaps for 2019 & 2021 for Anthony Davis, Solomon Hill, E’Twaun Moore, and Wesley Johnson.

Paul George is playing like a legitimate MVP candidate this year and is finally living up to the potential everyone hoped for before his injury in 2014. He is ready to lead a team and teaming him up with Jrue Holiday will allow him to get more consistent point guard play than he’s had with Westbrook this season in OKC. Steven Adams is a dominant rebounder and one of the best pick and roll big men in the league and Jerami Grant is an amazing athlete that has shown growth each of the last couple seasons so his potential in exciting for the Pelicans. Since OKC’s 2020 first round pick was traded to Orlando and their 2022 first round pick was sent to Atlanta, pick swaps for 2019 and 2021 are the only options for acquiring their 1st rounders since teams are not allowed to trade back-to-back first round picks.
There is risk to OKC since if Davis leaves they will be without draft picks for four consecutive years, but having a core team of Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis should be enough to have a real chance at signing Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, or Demarcus Cousins this offseason.

Philadelphia 76ers:

Ben Simmons, Markell Fultz, Landry Shamet, Zhaire Smith, Wilson Chandler, 2021 1st-Round Pick (via Miami), and a 1st Round Picks Swap in 2020 for Anthony Davis and Solomon Hill.

Ben Simmons is the best young player in the league but because of his hesitation to shoot jump shots and his lack of improvement in his shooting mechanics, he is not enough for Davis. Landry Shamet has impressed the league this year with his 3-pt shooting and is a good role player already as a rookie. Zhaire Smith and Markelle Fultz are only here because of their potential. Neither has been healthy enough to show any real value so this allows Philly fans the relief of not worrying about them and the 76ers organization to unload potential in return for a top-3 talent in the NBA.
Philadelphia should do this because having a core of Anthony Davis, Joel Emiid, and Jimmy Butler makes you the favorite in the Eastern Conference and if Butler is still a hassle, you can let him go in the offseason and go after one of the big name free agents and contend for the title next year. Embiid and Davis are supremely talented and a team built around them has a real chance at dominating in a league full of “small ball” lineups and shooters that are afraid to attack the paint. Davis and Demarcus Cousins showed real potential as a duo and Cousins’ injury happened before we could see how good they could be together. Embiid allows Davis to play as a power forward and having the two best big men in the league on the same team is too tempting to let go.

So what should New Orleans do? If I were the owner of the team I would run all possible trade offers through many people or feedback. Dell Demps needs to make a splash to keep his job and making a bad deal for more time as the team’s GM is a real problem to avoid. You can’t fire Demps since this situation is delicate and there are only 10 days until the trade deadline, but I don’t trust his decision making enough to not oversee this process. If the Lakers make the trade offer I outlined earlier, then I would jump on that immediately and make the trade.

If any of the other offers are made, I would not make a deal and wait for this summer to see what happens when Boston can make an offer. All of the other trade offers will still be there this summer and depending on if New York gets the #1 overall pick, the pot could get even sweeter. Anything less than the offers here aren’t good enough for a player like Davis so it’s better to wait and see what is available this summer. I might even put Jrue Holiday in trade talks and see what I can get in return. Even though OKC’s offer is great and might be the third best offer given, Boston’s collection of picks plus Tatum and Brown is better for the future of the Pelicans than a vocal star player that wouldn’t be happy to be there.

New Orleans has the most difficult decision in the franchise’s history. This situation will affect the organization for the next decade at least so there cannot be any question, when the trade is made, if the decision selected was the best for the team. It must be an absolute certainty or else this will add to the list of failures that the young franchise has accumulated thus far. Stringing together multiple bad moves can change the way players and fans view a franchise for many years to come. If you ask a fan what they think of Sacramento, New York, Orlando, or Phoenix as organizations, there won’t many positive comments. They are defined by their years of bad moves and instability as a franchise. Bad and/or meddling owners along with bad management has tainted these teams for the worse and if I were Gayle Benson, owner of the Pelicans, I would do all I can to avoid falling into the ranks of that list.