According to rumors, the LA Clippers are still interested in acquiring Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans, but have been unable to gain traction.
The Anthony Davis fiasco has been going on for some time now — the six-time All-Star first requested a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans way back in January, and after five months, it feels like hardly anything has changed. The Los Angeles Lakers are still considered to be the best available destination, although they’ve had troubles getting a deal completed. That seems to have extended to the LA Clippers as well, as rumors say they’ve been unable to gain traction on a deal.
On Wednesday afternoon, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported that the Lakers and Boston Celtics were both engaged with the Pelicans in regards to a Davis trade. When his story came out a few moments later, the Clippers, along with the Brooklyn Nets, were listed as teams that have interest in acquiring Davis, but can’t get anywhere in negotiations.
LA remaining interested isn’t exactly a surprise — the Clippers have reportedly been in on Davis almost as far back as he initially requested a trade from the organization, but unless they include Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in trade discussions, they simply won’t have the assets to put together a competitive offer.
Outside of Gilgeous-Alexander, the Clippers could offer a package that includes Danilo Gallinari, one of Montrezl Harrell or Lou Williams and one of Landry Shamet or Jerome Robinson, in addition to a healthy number of future draft picks. But even with the best selection of those assets, LA’s package wouldn’t be as favorable as what the Lakers or Celtics could offer New Orleans.
The Lakers have reportedly made Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and the No. 4 overall pick available in trade offers, but have been reluctant to include Kyle Kuzma with that group of assets. On the other hand, Boston’s best package could include Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart and the No. 14 overall pick in this year’s draft, among other pieces.
By keeping Gilgeous-Alexander out of trade discussions for Davis, the Clippers are making it known that they believe he can be the franchise’s point guard of the future. This may also keep the Clippers from going after a high-profile free agent point guard this summer, like Kyrie Irving or Kemba Walker.
Unless the LA Clippers decide to include Gilgeous-Alexander in a trade package, the team should be considered out of the race for Davis.