Report: Anthony Davis still wants trade despite Pelicans winning No. 1 pick in the draft

Benyam Kidane

Report: Anthony Davis still wants trade despite Pelicans winning No. 1 pick in the draft image

The New Orleans Pelicans walked away from the NBA draft lottery with the main prize, securing the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft, however that reportedly has done little to sway Anthony Davis' mind.

According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, Davis still wants to be traded from the New Orleans Pelicans, with plenty of teams interested in acquiring the 26-year-old's services. 


Duke freshman Zion Williamson is widely tipped to be selected first and the Pelicans will look to sell Davis on their future and continue to build what they have in New Orleans, with coach Alvin Gentry confident they can convince him to stay.

"Guys, the one thing you got to understand is [Davis] is still on our roster," Gentry told ESPN.com. "He is on our roster. All of that will take care of itself. I'm not worried about it. I know Griff has some plans to talk to him, and it will be fine."


It's sure to be a busy summer for Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin, who echoed those sentiments when he was asked if he was looking forward to talking to Davis and his agent, Rich Paul following the lottery results.

"No more so than before. We have reason to believe that’s something that is attractive," Griffin said.

"And if I’m Anthony Davis, I’m skeptical obviously. He’s wanted to win this whole time and he felt compelled to try to win elsewhere. I think if you look at the totality of where this organization is and where we’re going, we feel very strongly that we’re going be the environment he wants to be part of. And if we’re not, that’s fine; we can deal with it from there.

"But I’m looking at this believing that there’s no reason he wouldn’t want to win with us because that’s what we do. It’s who we are. And I think culturally we’re about all the same things."

The Pelicans won the lottery for the second time in their history, the first time, they used the No. 1 pick to select Davis in 2012 from the University of Kentucky.

Benyam Kidane

Benyam Kidane Photo

Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor and has been covering the league for The Sporting News since 2016. In his spare time you can find him watching Allen Iverson highlights on repeat.