With the news that DeMarcus Cousins has signed with the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors, his former teammate in New Orleans – Anthony Davis – becomes in play for the Celtics as Anthony Davis Celtics NBA Trade Rumors heat up yet again.
Davis, who is coming off an MVP-caliber campaign, surely is frustrated that Pelicans GM Dell Demps cannot land a marquee free agent. Re-signing Cousins was easily the top priority for Demps, and to see Cousins walk out the door and sign with the Warriors for such a low price tag is insult to injury for the organization.
Meanwhile the Celtics seem to be holding onto their remaining assets (Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, upcoming Memphis and Sacramento first round picks) with the idea of making a trade play for Davis. There have been NBA trade rumors dating back to the fall of 2016 highlighting that Celtics boss Danny Ainge covets Davis.
Just 10 days ago, The Sports Post had an article titled, “Why Anthony Davis to the Celtics is Inevitable.” This was well before LeBron signed with the Lakers, and well before Cousins signed with the Warriors.
In other words, this is the worst kept secret in the league. Davis to the Celtics is going to happen at some point, whether it’s tomorrow, next week, before the 2019 NBA trade deadline, or three years from now.
Anthony Davis Celtics NBA Trade Rumors
The problem for Ainge and the Celtics right now if they want to move this thing forward is that Demps is going to ask for the world for Davis right now (i.e. Jayson Tatum would have to be part of any Davis package). The Celtics have made it clear that Tatum is not on the table in a potential Kawhi Leonard trade, but given that Leonard is threatening to jump to Los Angeles next summer – Ainge would be crazy to give up a player of Tatum’s ability in order to secure what could very well be a rental player.
The best play for the Celtics right now is to again wait it out. Hope that things implode in New Orleans this winter, which they very well could. The Pelicans also lost their locker room leader, Rajon Rondo, on Monday (seriously, he was a locker room leader – read this) and now only Davis is left standing. With it, Anthony Davis Celtics NBA Trade Rumors are heating up.
With Cousins now in Golden State, the term “super team” seems passé. “Unfair team” may be more apropos.
At this point, the only way another NBA team enters “Unfair team” status is if David is traded to the Celtics. Stay tuned.
