Sixers

Danny Ainge’s Anthony Davis Dream May Now Be His Nightmare

By Russ Joy

Published: Feb 1st, 2019 · 12:41 PM EST

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In the aftermath of the Knicks’ decision to trade Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas, plenty of fans wondered why New York never publicly put Porzingis on the block.

That especially happened in New Orleans, where a package centered around Porzingis could’ve presumably enticed the Pelicans into a swap for Anthony Davis. Davis is clearly the better player, though he only has a season remaining until unrestricted free agency, while Porzings – still recovering from an ACL tear – is approaching free agency as a restricted free agent.

Another fan base that was monitoring the Porzingis deal was that of the Boston Celtics, who likely felt the trade set some sort of a baseline for what an Anthony Davis deal would cost the team. Boston, however is unable to trade for Davis while Kyrie Irving is on the roster due to the Designated Player Extension (the Derrick Rose Rule) the players signed with the Pelicans and Cavaliers, respectively. The thought was that Boston, who have expressed interest in Davis through back channels and national media leaks, would back up the truck for an off-season trade. The Celtics’ treasure trove of assets includes four first round picks in 2019: Top-1 protected via Sacramento, Top-8 protected via Memphis, Top-14 protected via the Clippers, and their own.

Celtics GM Danny Ainge was poised to pounce and likely felt confident that he could offer the best package this off-season. That was, at least, until this happened:

Sources @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium: The Boston Celtics aren't a preferred destination long-term for New Orleans star Anthony Davis, and in Davis’ mind, remain a rental option.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 1, 2019

Anthony Davis is focused on the Lakers as his top preferred destination, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium. The Knicks are also as a preferred landing spot, and made push to New Orleans with offer around Kristaps Porzingis before the Dallas deal.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 1, 2019

Give me a second. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I digress. This, my friends, is Schadenfreude to the max. Not only are rumors swirling that Irving could have eyes for the Knicks to team up with Kevin Durant or the Lakers for a LeBron/Irving/Davis superteam, but now the object of Boston’s desire reportedly doesn’t feel the same. He might like the Celtics, but he doesn’t like them like them.

Glorious.