NBA Rumors: Pelicans May Pursue Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart In Anthony Davis Deal

The Boston Celtics may have a better chance landing soon-to-be free agent Anthony Davis as league sources pointed to Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart as favorites of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Another twist has just hit the Anthony Davis talks, and this time it may involve more rising stars. Sources claimed that the New Orleans Pelicans are highly interested in Tatum, Smart and other players in the current Boston Celtics roster.

Reports claimed that the player the Pelicans “covet most” is still Tatum. However, Smart, Robert Williams, Semi Ojeleye, Guerschon Yabusele and apparently at least pick no. 14 in this year’s NBA Draft are also in the team's sights, according to Lakers Nation.

The Celtics have been quite open about their interest in trading for Davis. The Celtics organization is reportedly also among those using Kyrie Irving’s friendship with Davis and Kevin Durant as bargaining chips to lure Irving to join them, NBC Sports reported.

With that said, if the Celtics use the Pelicans' apparent interest on Tatum and Smart and be lucky enough to swing a deal out of it, they could have a slightly higher chance of making Irving stay. But of course, this could only happen if rumors of the Brooklyn Nets and Irving having a mutual understanding turn out to be false.

Last week, it was reported that some in the Pelicans organization prefer not to trade with the Lakers as the team is only interested in Brandon Ingram. Sources also claimed that the trade pitches that the Knicks offered the Celtics for Irving are more enticing for the Pelicans, making them the preferred team to trade Davis with, Lakers Nation reported.

From the looks of it, it seems like the Pelicans are really stretching their options in dealing Davis. And with the list of names being dropped in the news these past few days, it is hard not to assume that NOLA is looking to equip their roster with a mix of NBA stars and youngsters.

The trade rumors and news regarding Davis have already gone way too long that it is now hard to tell which team is really interested and which team Davis wants to play for.

But one thing is for sure, based on history, the Lakers and the Celtics already have some sort of a reputation in swinging big deals, especially now that both Lakers and Celtics know the Pelicans have their eyes on their young core.