How do the Celtics factor into the latest twists in Anthony Davis chase?

One week after Anthony Davis made public his trade request to the New Orleans Pelicans, an avalanche of news surrounding the potential future of the All-Star has hit the news on Monday afternoon. With fewer than 72 hours remaining until the trade deadline, let’s get caught up on the evolving scenarios surrounding the big man and how the Celtics factor into the equation.

Development No. 1: Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports Davis has informed the Pelicans about a list of teams that Davis would be willing to commit to re-signing over the long term with after becoming a free agent in 2020. These teams include the Lakers, Clippers, Knicks and Bucks.

Development No. 2: Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Lakers have upped their offer for Davis, offering Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson and two first round picks for Davis and Solomon Hill (a bad contract that runs through 2020).

On the surface, both of these reports look like very bad news for the Celtics and their potential pursuit of Davis, particularly in the wake of Anthony Davis Sr. speaking about publicly about his desire for his son not to play for Boston after the way they treated Isaiah Thomas.

When you pull back the curtain a little bit here and start connecting the dots and the timing of these reports, the news may not be as bad for Boston as it looks. Instead, this appears to be an orchestration or power play by Davis’ camp to try to get him to his preferred destination (Lakers) before the Celtics can even enter the bidding. Let’s look at a few of the facts here to understand why.

1. None of the teams on Davis’ preferred destinations have the assets to make a competitive offer for him right now outside of the Lakers. We covered this last week in the trade suitor power rankings. The Bucks don’t have any building block pieces signed for the long-term beyond Giannis Antetokounmpo and he’s not going anywhere. The Knicks traded away with their top asset (Kristaps Porzignis) last week and don’t have enough left to make an appealing offer for Davis now. That could change if they win the lottery, but that won’t happen until May.

The Clippers’ potential package is a little more intriguing

but still falls far short of what the Lakers and Clippers can offer with a lack of young appealing pieces. The end result here? The Lakers’ offer for Davis suddenly looks a lot more attractive compared to the rest of the pack, which can be used by Davis’ camp in a couple ways from a negotiating perspective.

This also looks like an attempt to show the NBA and Pelicans (on the surface) that Davis’ camp isn’t trying to bully their way to Los Angeles by giving assurances to a number of teams that they have a chance at keeping the superstar big man. However, if none of those teams have what it takes to land Davis besides the Lakers, it could put some additional pressure on the Pelicans front office to send him there, which leads to No. 2.

2. The Lakers revealing their best offer close to the trade deadline: We saw some of the underwhelming ones in the last week, but moving Magic Johnson offering all of his young pieces (Kuzma, Ball, Ingram) with first round picks is pretty close to the best the Lakers can do from an offer standpoint. They could add another first round pick or two (up to four in total is allowed), but from a player perspective, this is where they max out from a roster perspective.

Is that enough for the Pelicans to pull the trigger now? It should only be if New Orleans is afraid that there won’t be better offers waiting this summer. The Lakers can do their best to posture here and warn the Pelicans that this package might not all be on the table in the summer but will Pelicans general manager Dell Demps really believe that with the Celtics eagerly awaiting to get into the bidding? Danny Ainge can signal whatever he wants right now to the Pelicans about the assets he’s willing to put on the table and while promising a name like Jayson Tatum now seems unlikely, even leaving the door open to that possibility could be enough for the Pelicans to stand pat.

It’s hard to envision the Lakers current offer being taken off the table this summer and if the Pelicans feel that way as well, these developments should do nothing to change their stance regarding their franchise star. A few teams could offer a trump card in the next 72 hours (i.e. the Sixers offering an elite prospect like Ben Simmons) but outside of a deal like that coming to the surface, moving Davis now for New Orleans is not guaranteed to get them the best bang for their buck. None of the Lakers current young assets have the upside of a Tatum or Simmons and Boston’s draft assets also surpass anything the Lakers can offer on that front as well.

Final Thoughts

The Celtics are obviously going to have to navigate a lot between now and July 1st (when they can start dealing for Davis). Their finish to the season will undoubtedly impact what they are and aren’t willing to offer for Davis this summer, as will the suddenly uncertain future of Kyrie Irving. However, the smoke screen that Davis’ camp is putting out right now through reporters is highly unlikely to make Ainge change his stance about what he’s willing to give up for Davis. This all looks like a creative, calculated way into scaring the Pelicans to make a deal now without sending up red flags for collusion across the league. I’d expect the Celtics to ignore the noise and make sure their intentions are known with the Pelicans in the next 72 hours, with the hope it’s enough to keep New Orleans staying put.