Jimmy Butler may be the next star to be traded, but Anthony Davis won’t be joining him, according to Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. Appearing on a podcast with Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports, Bontemps said there’s a “zero percent chance” the Pelicans will part with Davis this season [hat tip to Bryan Kalbrosky of Hoops Hype).
Next summer, Davis will be eligible for a five-year supermax contract that could become the richest deal in NBA history, Bontemps explains. It’s possible that a trade involving Davis could happen in a few years if he decides he’s not happy in New Orleans or doesn’t view the team as a contender, but Bontemps said he won’t go anywhere until he has that contract in hand.
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- This Pelicans‘ roster turnover this summer may present the biggest challenges on defense, writes Scott Kushner of The Advocate. New Orleans got noticed for its fast pace last season, but one of the overlooked factors in its success was team defense, which was fourth best in the league after February 1 at 103.4 points per 100 possessions. Davis and Jrue Holiday were first-team All-Defense honorees, but newcomers Julius Randle and Elfrid Payton, who both had negative defensive efficiency numbers last season, have to prove that they contribute at that end of the court.
- The decision to gamble on former Spurs forward Kyle Anderson may help decide Chris Wallace’s future as GM of the Grizzlies, suggests Mark Giannotto of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Huge contracts for Marc Gasol, Mike Conley and Chandler Parsons were already straining the team’s cap when Wallace decided to extend a four-year, $37.2MM offer sheet to Anderson. San Antonio elected not to match, so Anderson will be in Memphis’ training camp next week as its top free agent addition of the summer. It’s a huge risk based on Anderson’s career numbers, which included a career-high 7.9 PPG and 5.4 RPG last season. Giannotto states that the Grizzlies should look to replace Wallace if it doesn’t work out.
- Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News takes a look at some of the key figures in the Mavericks‘ workplace misconduct case, which resulted in a settlement that was announced today.
Klye Anderson deal was good though… Stop using PG averages especially without any mention of MPG. Career numbers of 2.4 BPM and +6 OnCourt. Fire him for not getting anything out of Tyreke.
Agree with AD, needs to stay in NOLA 2-3 years more, become MVP do all he has to, & then if the team is still not competing & he wants to leave, then he can go anywhere he wants, but I don’t think he can find better situations.
Then the Pels?
Sorry to say but Anderson is an overpay, very much so like Conley & Parsons, not good to overpay for average players. The only good contract they have is Marc Gasol.
Anderson should have no problem making the GM look good though his game is not stat-heavy. They have a smart lineup and Bickerstaff is onto it.
I read the report on the Mavs. Cuban was either fully aware of what was going on and did nothing or he’s incompetent. Either way, he shouldn’t own a team and the league should have taken the Mavs away from him.