The Pelicans have had a busy day, cutting ties with GM Dell Demps and naming Danny Ferry as the interim replacement. Whether that has any impact on what the franchise will do with Anthony Davis the rest of the season remains to be seen.
New Orleans wants to get a maximum return on Davis this offseason and won’t necessarily limit itself to one of his preferred destinations. The efforts of agent Rich Paul to force the Pelicans’ hand before the trade deadline backfired, as the front office refused to buckle and work out a deal with the Lakers.
However, the next two months will be tricky. Davis has been booed in his home arena and is now obviously in an awkward spot when he takes the court. So are coach Alvin Gentry and New Orleans’ remaining front office executives, who must decide how much to use the franchise player. The Pelicans risk league discipline if they choose to sit Davis when he’s healthy. Davis suffered in a shoulder contusion against Oklahoma City on Thursday, but the injury is a minor one.
It would seem to be in the Pelicans’ best interest to play Davis as little as possible, not only decreasing the chances of major injury but also improving their chances of winning the draft lottery. However, it would also be unfair to fans who paid full price to see Davis play not get their money’s worth.
That leads us to our question of the day: Should the Pelicans continue to play Anthony Davis the rest of the season or should they try to shut him down and risk league penalties? If they decide to play him, should they limit his minutes or use him as they did before his trade demand?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
They should shut him down then trade him somewhere other than LA. Rich Paul should be ivestigated by the NBA and the NBAPA. That won’t happen because Lebron won’t let it.
Agreed. Make a big point about it. Investigate LeBron as well. Send a message to the rest of the league. Only bad thing about the NBA is the soap opera stuff like this
On a charge of what? And where are the results of this whatever?
Haven’t you heard, you don’t need a crime for an investigation…
All pub is good pub. League loves this.
Why cant a team trade for two players extended under the Rose Rule. I don’t need info on the rule I know the rule. The WHY part just lost on me. I get it in a sign-n-trade situation you’re using the rule to entice players to stay, well this is year 3 of the deal. Just kind of stupid. I’m curious how many other deals couldn’t happen due to this rule.
The Rose rule has nothing to do with trades actually, though it can complicate them. The rule limits a team from offering more than one player an extention that goes beyond the max for that player. So a team can only have one player making more than the max for that player at a time.
A limit of 1, or a limit at all?
The limit to 1 is likely a carryover from the original rule that a team could only give 1 of these contracts (and, yes, for the life of that contract). If a team couldn’t give a 2nd, it shouldn’t be allowed to acquire a 2nd. Now you can have a 2nd, if it’s your own guy. But they never changed the rule for acquiring a 2nd guy by trade.
Why limit per team at all? As simple as limiting the total number in circulation, originally to 30, and now to 30+ but not quite 60, since few teams will organically have a 2nd worthy recipient. Owners are generally better off if these contracts don’t exist (acquired or signed), and players don’t generally care. So, why have them at all? Well, so-called small market teams (who control CBA negotiations) wanted them, but at first only to keep the mythical singular face of their franchise (then, well maybe 2, out of fairness to the 2nd guy on the same team, but that fairness doesn’t relate to trades).
It’s not actually the Rose rule I think, but close. They created this new category of contract with higher percentages for allstar type players, then promptly limited the times it can be used. They used dumb words for the whole thing, so the words are not used. “Designated veteran exception” or something.
It’s all small-market-mind-thinking, probably ultimately self-defeating as @DXC likes to opin. But for purposes of future CBA rules-making, because of AD & others, the trend will likely be for more small-market owner/GM agitation, not less. Maybe they will start all over with a different system of limitation. Ha
The rule is to reward teams for developing stars, letting them go over the cap to keep players.
So it makes LeBron-esque super teams where everyone also gets paid tougher.
They should be able to sit AD. The “do what you want, unless they’re a star” is crap.
Everyone is getting paid in GSW.
If you can make a trade that fits within the salary matching constraints it honestly shouldn’t matter. The no two via trade is an arbitrary clause that has zero to do with paying a player 30% of your cap. You can have two on a team but not trade for two. If the rule was designed to help teams, it actually hurt the Pelicans. They would of had more leverage at this deadline if the Celtics were involved.
If AD were to get hurt (ACL, Achilles) could the Pels sue the league?
Why??? For their own uselessness & incompetence, hardly is the leagues fault, right?
They should sit him(mostly)for home games and play him away games. Maybe give him 20-25 min on the road but only 10-15 min at home but that’s it. I doubt the fans in NO want to see him play anyway cause two things happen when he doesn’t play. Lottery odds get better and Randle gets more burn. Any national TV games play him and even then 25 min or so.
I would go further… only road minutes are ethically pertinent. Home fans want to see the Pels optimize their assets in the long run. Home fans may buy fewer tickets, but that is a local financial issue that should not involve the commissioner.
Ahh. Is that why fans buy tickets and go the the game?
They will buy less in NO. But that is a Benson problem, not a league-wide one. As for the best interests of Pels fans, they are getting better players back in the future AD trade if he stays healthy.
Honestly giving players the right to hit free agency takes away the balance in the league. Back in the day it was less common to see players move teams unless the team didnt want said player. Lebron using rich paul as a scape goat is kinda ridiculous, its impossible to say they arent talking to players about joining up. Im a die hard laker fan but hate lebron, i dont see what team in there right mind would trade top dollar for ad when they know he is going to lakers. The only team that gets hurt is pelicans.
SIT HIM.
It’s not a debate.
AD quit on NOP. Got his agent to hold NOP hostage and now demands playing time!?
Does AD own the Pelicans?
No.
He’s the employee on a guaranteed contract.
Do as you’re asked — YOU created this disaster Anthony.
Pels could come out of this ‘ordeal’ better off.
The Pels’ GM job should be a sought-after one, with ownership that is underconfident and limited in meddling, almost absent.
As far as the team’s talent level, Davis should bring a bounty. Last year’s roster, maybe their best of late, was not going to get very far in the playoffs.
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Recent newsbits suggest that Demps was not authorized to trade AD even if he wanted to. Interesting. That info may set back a number of poster’s cases incl mine incl above, that the Pels GM job is free of meddling. What will Demps claim was his stance?
If I had season tix for New Orleans and they sit him when he is able to play, I form a class action suit for fraud. Or, ask the team to return my money. He is the main product they have to sell tickets – no one is paying to see Etwaun Moore.
Something has to be done about this by the NBA. That’s two teams seasons destroyed by players with no integrity. They’ve signed contracts to play for a team, no one forced them (Butler, Davis).
Butler never ever ever signed with Minny, he was traded there without a say about it, hence why trading for players is not so good. He never chose Minny, no need to wanna be there. AD never chose NOLA he was drafted & yes he could have turned down his rookie renewal, but he was happy, he is been very loyal & way too good to the franchise, they treated him like dirt in reply, in all of that AD is coming out looking real good, Pels not so much.
Funny how sooo many people talks about not letting him play so doesn’t get injured, that makes no sense at all. As far as I know many players get injured while training, I would say is probably near 50/50 players getting injured in training or playing is a similar number. So the only way to preserve him healthy is to not letting him train for the next 5 months, which then drops his value a ton. Playing is not a risk greater than training. As many guys here have mentioned, fans pay to see guys like AD, right now why would anyone pay to watch any other guy in NOLA, AD is the only one fans pay for, both at home & away, he is the show, no one cares about the team. Stars sell tickets & improve the image of teams even if they don’t improve much the teams, creating a positive feeling, like Blake in Detroit, people pays to watch him.
Just play him only on the road won’t have to deal with the boos
Davis got this pot boiling. There are creative ways to handle this situation, to be a bit vindictive if that’s the desire in New Orleans. The Pelicans play Phoenix three more times this season. Use Davis as a backup and only bring him into the game to match up against the Suns’ backup center when he enters the game. Davis has made the Pelicans irrelevant for the rest of this season. Return the favor.
I’d get my money’s worth out of him and play him 48 minutes a night.