Anthony Davis Narrows Lists Of Desirable Trades Down To Lakers, Knicks

The Anthony Davis trade saga has taken another turn.

Last week, The Athletic reported that New Orleans Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin was beginning to take phone calls on a potential trade of Pelicans star Davis. Griffin met two weeks ago on May 29 in Los Angeles with Davis and his agent, Rich Paul, in hopes of possibly persuading the All-Star to reconsider staying in New Orleans. With Davis firm in his decision to be traded from the Pelicans, Griffin has now begun to work on finding a trade partner that will meet the list of demands that New Orleans has.

Back in February, Davis submitted to the Pelicans a list of four potential teams that he prefers to be traded to. That list included the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, and the Milwaukee Bucks. The Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics also were thought to be interested in acquiring Davis, yet were let off his list. It appears that Davis’ list is once again changing. According to reports, the only two teams that Davis at this point will consider signing a long-term contract with are the Lakers and Knicks.

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With the Pelicans determined to maximize Davis’ trade value, they will probably look to trade him before the summer ends. The Pelicans are exploring the idea of a multi-team trade involving Davis so that they have more options than just either the Knicks or Lakers assets to acquire. Apparently, the success that the Toronto Raptors have displayed this season since acquiring Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs last summer has motivated small-market teams not on Davis’ list to inquire about trading for Davis as a rental piece for one season before Davis becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer. One team to consider that might try something like this is the Dallas Mavericks.