If Danny Ainge watched ESPN's NBA Countdown show Wednesday night, he would have liked what Adrian Wojnarowski had to say.
Wojnarowski shared an update on Anthony Davis, insisting the New Orleans Pelicans have no desire to move their superstar forward before the Feb. 7 NBA trade deadline.
"Rich Paul, Anthony Davis' agent, told me they have not had any real substantial discussions about Anthony's future in New Orleans with the Pelicans," Wojnarowski said. "Anthony's focus has been on ... the playoff picture. But there's no promises about his future beyond the trade deadline.
"It's safe to say right now, I think he'll be there certainly through the trade deadline. New Orleans does not want to trade him. They will have to be forced into doing that."
Here's why this is good news for the Celtics' pursuit of Davis: Thanks to the "Rose Rule" (more on that here), the only way Boston can trade for the 25-year-old All-Star this season is if it gives up Kyrie Irving, which seems highly unlikely. As such, a Celtics run at Davis would have to wait until the offseason.
Boston Celtics
The Los Angeles Lakers have no such restrictions, however, and theoretically could try to trade for Davis right now. Many believe the Lakers are the front-runner to land Davis, who shares the same agent as LeBron James. So, Celtics fans rightfully have been concerned about L.A. swooping in and nabbing Davis before Boston can even step to the bargaining table.
Based on Woj's intelligence, though, it sounds like the Pelicans won't even entertain trade proposals for Davis -- who can opt out of his contract in 2020 -- before Feb. 7 as they try to get back in the playoff mix.
That means both the Celtics and Lakers *should* be able to make a run at Davis this summer, when the C's will have a wealth of assets to work with to try to entice New Orleans into a deal.
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