Celtics, Anthony Davis Union Given Hope, Tatum Open To Pelicans Switch: Report

The Los Angeles Lakers’ chances of landing Anthony Davis have drastically dropped after they failed to complete the trade with the New Orleans Pelicans before the Feb. 7 trade deadline. It was not for fault of theirs as it was the Pelicans who decided not to acknowledge the offers on the table and hold on to the forward until the summer.

The Lakers had made multiple offers, one of which included five players and future draft picks, but were still unable to entice the Pelicans management to part with their prized asset. They have to now wait until the summer to make their move, but there will be a lot of other factors involved.

The main stumbling block for the Los Angeles franchise will be the Boston Celtics, who will be then eligible to trade for Davis. They were not allowed before the trade deadline as they already had one player – Kyrie Irving – on a designated contract; NBA rules do out allow a team to have two on the roster.

But once Irving opts out of his deal on July 1 they will able to bring in the power forward, a player they have coveted for many years. The Celtics are thought to have the best assets and according to ESPN’s Tim McMahon, any deal involving Celtics forward Jayson Tatum could be favorable to the Pelicans over any other offer.

The Celtics were expected to be one of the favorites to progress from the Eastern Conference this season after coming just one game short of making the NBA Finals last season, but they have had a difficult campaign thus far and are currently in fifth. And they made their run to the East finals without star man Irving.

It was the young players on the roster that put on a spirited display until their loss in Game 7 of the East finals and McMahon believes the lack of chemistry this season is that they have smaller roles due to Irving and Gordon Hayward returning to the lineup.

Tatum is aware he will not be the face of the franchise as long as Irving is leading the team and the NBA expert believes the Celtics forward could be open to a move to Pelicans where he will be the go-to player. And if he is included in the deal along with a number of draft picks, it is difficult to see anyone beating the Celtics for Davis’ signature.

“I was talking to a scout the other day about the Celtics and they said the worst thing that could have happened to the Celtics was their success last season,” McMahon said, as quoted on the Express. “Now you’ve got Tatum, [Jaylen] Brown, [Terry] Rozier, they’re thinking dude, we went to game seven of the Eastern Finals against LeBron without you, Kyrie, without you, [Gordon] Hayward. We’re this level of player, and now they’re being asked to take smaller roles. There’s all sorts of chemistry problems."

“As much as Magic is saying yeah these guys are professionals with the Lakers, well okay but these guys know they’re being shopped, they know the Celtics can’t do anything until the summer because of Kyrie’s contract situation, but they know this summer they could be gone," he said.

“It’s gossip, but the gossip is that Jayson Tatum wouldn’t mind. He wouldn’t mind being shipped to New Orleans and being the face of the franchise somewhere,” he explained. “He’s not going to get that opportunity in Boston, and not in the near future.”

But it could all change, as everything is in Irving’s hands as he almost certainly will enter free agency in 2019. If the point guard commits to the Celtics, he could form a super team with Davis, but if he decides to leave, it is unlikely that Celtics will include Tatum in any package for the Pelicans forward.