Turns out the Pelicans were using Anthony Davis trade talks as a way to sabotage the Lakers

BarDown Staff

By the Numbers: The Buzz around 'The Brow'

We’re less than 24 hours away from this year’s NBA trade deadline and basketball fans are eagerly waiting to find out whether or not Anthony Davis is going to finish the 2018-19 season as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans.

For a while it seemed like it was a given that the three-time NBA blocks leader was going to end up with the Los Angeles Lakers before the trade deadline, which then would have led to him signing a max-deal with the team once his contract ran out after the 2019-2020 season. But now it seems like Davis might not end up with the Lakers at all, regardless if it’s by Thursday’s deadline or when he hits the free agent market.

So I asked @WindhorstESPN if the Pels ever intended to seriously engage with LA on Anthony Davis, or if all the talks & leaks were instead designed to sabotage the young Lakers as revenge for what N.O. sees as tampering, & he said "it's not just possible, it's what happened." 👀 pic.twitter.com/wki2hDPaEs
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) February 7, 2019

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Pelicans never actually intended on trading Davis to the Lakers and just wanted to use the public trade rumours as a way to sabotage the young Lakers team and to get revenge on the organization for attempting to tamper with Davis well before his contract is up.

.@Rachel__Nichols asked if the Pelicans aren't truly engaging with the Lakers and leaking info to make them miserable.@WindhorstESPN says that's what happened. pic.twitter.com/u4zTdkb56t
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 7, 2019

Considering just about every name on the Lakers roster other than LeBron James’ was mentioned in some sort of possible trade package, it’s safe to say the Pelicans’ plan worked.

(H/T SportsCenter/Brian Windhorst)