Jeff Van Gundy takes on NBA, Pelicans fans, Anthony Davis trade drama during ESPN telecast

Tom Gatto

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Jeff Van Gundy takes on NBA, Pelicans fans, Anthony Davis trade drama during ESPN telecast image

Jeff Van Gundy had himself quite a first quarter in New Orleans on Friday night.

The ESPN NBA analyst and former coach came down on the side of Pelicans management in its dealings with All-Star forward Anthony Davis, who has told the front office (through agent Rich Paul) that he wants to be traded. The Lakers tried to pry Davis from the Pelicans and pair him with Paul client LeBron James prior to Thursday's trade deadline but were rebuffed.

MORE: Bucks owner happy to hear team on Davis' list 

Van Gundy also took a swipe at the NBA for threatening to fine New Orleans ownership $100,000 per game if it were to bench a healthy Davis at any point. Davis returned to the lineup Friday after missing nine games with a finger injury (New Orleans went 3-6 in those games), and he has said he wants to play in the Pelicans' remaining games.

Van Gundy wasn't finished. He essentially called the New Orleans market, including its newspaper, the Times-Picayune, apathetic.

For the record, Andrew Lopez is the Pels beat writer for the Times-Picayune, and word of Van Gundy's crack got back to him quickly.

TRADE DEADLINE: Lakers left with tough questions

Lopez got in a jab at the Worldwide Leader himself:

(Verrier is now with The Ringer.)

Further, Friday's crowd sounded pretty engaged with it booed Davis during pregame introductions and into the first half.

Yes, it's just another night in The Association.

UPDATE: Davis had a huge night with 32 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in just 25 minutes, but he also sat the entire fourth quarter and watched as the Timberwolves tried to rally.

"AD and I talked about that early. I was not about to have him first game back play 38, 40 minutes, 39 minutes or whatever," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry told reporters after the game. "We had talked about playing between 22 and 25 minutes. That's why he didn't go back in the game. I thought he played well, went in there and did a good job. . . . He was typical Anthony."

The Pelicans hung on for the win and improved to 25-31; they're now five games out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

SN's Blair Berry contributed to this report.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.