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After keeping him through the NBA trade deadline, the New Orleans Pelicans plan to manage Anthony Davis’ workload over the remainder of the season.
According to ESPN.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Pelicans will bring his minutes down from his current average of 37 per game, and they’ll potentially refrain from using him in both games of a back-to-back.
The Lakers made a major push to acquire Davis before Thursday’s deadline expired. The Los Angeles Times‘ Broderick Turner reported Tuesday that they had put Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Ivica Zubac, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and two first-round picks on the table.
However, New Orleans gave the Lakers the silent treatment, leading some to wonder whether the Pelicans had an ulterior motive:
Rachel Nichols @Rachel__Nichols
So I asked @WindhorstESPN if the Pels ever intended to seriously engage with LA on Anthony Davis, or if all the talks & leaks were instead designed to sabotage the young Lakers as revenge for what N.O. sees as tampering, & he said “it’s not just possible, it’s what happened.”
https://t.co/wki2hDPaEs
Now, Davis is locked in for the remainder of the year.
Some might argue the Pelicans should shut down the six-time All-Star. New Orleans isn’t going to reach the playoffs with him, so it might as well keep him healthy before returning to trade negotiations in the summer.
Pelicans general manager Dell Demps released a statement Thursday indicating that wasn’t going to be an option:
New Orleans Pelicans @PelicansNBA
Davis has missed the Pelicans’ last nine games after suffering a finger injury in January. Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes reported he was healthy enough to play in Monday’s 109-107 defeat to the Indiana Pacers, but New Orleans held him out of the lineup.
He’s under contract through the 2019-20 season at a little over $27 million. He also has a player option for the 2020-21 season at around $29 million.
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