After what Anthony Davis did in Boston on Tuesday night, it's easy to understand why Celtics fans are imagining the four-time All-Star forward in green and white.
Davis pushed the Pelicans to a 116-113 overtime win against the Celtics with 45 points and 16 rebounds in 45 minutes of work. That came after he put up 48 points and grabbed 17 rebounds against the Knicks on Sunday. Those back-to-back stat lines place him in rarefied air.
Wilt Chamberlain and Anthony Davis are the only players in NBA history to have a 45/15 (points/rebounds) game in each of back-to-back road wins.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 17, 2018
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The pure domination of "The Brow" at TD Garden reignited speculation about Davis joining the Celtics, pushing them past the Cavs in the East and raising them to the same level as the Warriors. And it's not just folks sitting at Boston bars — even the "Around the Horn" crew had some fun with hypothetical trades.
Well talk AD beating the Celtics later but before the show, @ramonashelburne @jadande @IzGutierrez & @TonyReali work out a potential Celtics/Pelicans trade pic.twitter.com/v9UVNdgPKV
— Around The Horn (@AroundtheHorn) January 17, 2018
Sorry to shut down the party, but a Davis-to-the-Celtics deal isn't happening any time soon. During an appearance on "The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz," ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski explained why Davis will remain in a Pelicans jersey.
"New Orleans has no intention of trading Anthony Davis," Woj said. "Boston's uniquely positioned in that they have draft picks and young players and all the things — if a team was gonna trade Anthony Davis — all the things you'd want. But [the Pelicans] aren't trading Anthony Davis... He wants to make it work in New Orleans. He wants to get into the playoffs."
Woj also notes New Orleans wants to re-sign DeMarcus Cousins this offseason, and it would take a "radical change in direction" for the Pelicans to consider putting Davis on the trade block.
"The Brow" has been absolutely ridiculous in the month of January: 34.0 points, 12.7 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.5 steals per game on 55.4 percent shooting from the field. He is still only 24 years old, and he is under contract through 2020-21 with a player option for that final season. It's no surprise contenders would want a player of his caliber.
However, he has clearly expressed his desire to win with the team that took him No. 1 overall in the 2012 NBA Draft. Not only that, but by the end of his current contract, he will be eligible for a supermax deal, giving the Pelicans a financial advantage over every other NBA team at the negotiating table.
Put him in the trade machine all you want, but the Pelicans would be crazy to throw Davis' name to the top of the rumor mill. If Davis reaches a breaking point and wants out of New Orleans, then this is a topic worth seriously discussing. Until that time, though, it's just an exercise in imagination.
