Kyrie Addresses Anthony Davis' U-Turn Over Celtics Move, Praises LeBron

Anthony Davis made himself available for the 2019 NBA All-Star game in Charlotte on Sunday despite struggling with a shoulder injury that he picked up last week during the New Orleans Pelicans win over Oklahoma City Thunder. And during his interaction with the media, there were bound to be questions about his trade request and preferred destinations.

The power forward played just five minutes for Team LeBron, which recorded a come-from-behind win over Team Giannis after being blown out of the water in the first-half. Davis’ desire to play in the All-Star was not looked upon too kindly especially since he has not been this committed to the Pelicans since making the trade request in January.

The Los Angeles Lakers were said to be leading the chase at least before the trade deadline, but multiple reports claimed that Davis was also open to playing for the Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks or the Milwaukee Bucks. The one team that he was supposedly averse to was the Boston Celtics, and they are among the front-runners as they have the best assets to offer Pelicans when it comes to trade talks.

However, Davis has dispelled those suggestions and revealed ahead of the All-Star game that the Celtics were “never not on his list”. He is said to be agreeable to join the Celtics and could even commit his long-term future should they manage to retain Kyrie Irving, who will enter free agency this summer.

Davis said all 29 teams were on his list when questioned about his preferred destination in the summer. The six-time All-Star is unlikely to have any say come the summer as the Pelicans will decide based on what they are getting in return from interested franchises.

Irving, who the Celtics are hoping to retain in the summer, was told about Davis’ sudden U-turn about not having any qualms about moving to Boston, but the point guard was not ready to give his opinion on the matter at this point as it will lead to questions about his long-term future with his current employers.

“Oh, he did, did he?” Irving said during the All-Star weekend, as quoted by NESN. “I don’t think I have a comment on that right now.”

Meanwhile, Irving revealed his admiration for LeBron James amid talks that he could rekindle his partnership with the three-time NBA champion in Los Angeles. He admitted that he too like many other top players is looking to build a legacy similar to the 15-time All-Star, who is considered among the greatest to ever play the game.

“But I’m going to be that guy like Bron,” Irving said, as quoted by the Boston Herald. “He’s the captain, but we all understand he’s put in an unbelievable body of work and we respect who he is. And those guys are trying to get to that point, just like I’m trying to get to that point and build a legacy for myself in this league. And then you see all the great players in this league – George Gervin, MJ, David Robinson. They give it to us, and we give it back to the legends.”