NBA Rumors: Celtics believe they can convince Anthony Davis to sign long-term

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To say the Boston Celtics are all in on Anthony Davis may be an understatement.

The Celtics not only remain "outwardly fearless" in their pursuit of the New Orleans Pelicans superstar but believe they could "convince Davis to stay long-term" in Boston if they trade for him this summer, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe reported Thursday in a must-read article.

Some brief background: Boston covets Davis after his public trade request but can't acquire him until July 1 due to the Rose Rule. Davis also is a free agent after the 2019-20 season, and his "stated intention" will be to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 regardless of where he plays next season, Wojnarowski and Lowe reported.

So, why do the C's believe they can entice Davis into sticking around?

For one, Boston is "confident" Kyrie Irving will re-sign this summer even if it doesn't land Davis, and despite reports the All-Star guard is considering leaving in free agency, per ESPN. Furthermore, the Celtics think acquiring Davis would "clinch" Irving staying in Boston.

Which leads to this note from ESPN:

For now, the Celtics are unconvinced that Davis would be willing to walk out on a championship core with Boston for the Lakers. Boston's done a tremendous amount of research on Davis, especially intense in the past 18 months, league sources said.

And this addition:

As long as ominous backchannel warnings don't give Ainge pause, the Celtics believe they could convince Davis to stay long-term, clinching Irving's future in New England.

Considering Irving and Davis are close friends from their USA Basketball days, there's some merit to Boston's optimism. If all goes well in the 2019-20 season, would Davis really leave the Celtics in 2020 to join LeBron James, who turns 36 that December?

The ESPN article is worth a full read: It highlights causes for Boston's concern, such as the New York Knicks winning the NBA Draft lottery and topping the Celtics' trade package by offering New Orleans the chance to draft Duke's Zion Williamson.

But the main takeaway is that Danny Ainge and Co. are confident their current setup is rosy enough to keep both Irving and Davis in Celtics uniforms for years to come.

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