New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis is reportedly eyeing two major markets as rumors about his future swirl.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Davis sees the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks as his “two desired long-term destinations” with the offseason approaching. The Kentucky product has a player option for the 2020-21 season and can become a free agent following the upcoming 2019-20 campaign, putting the onus on the Pelicans to trade him if they want to avoid losing him without a return package.

Charania noted the Knicks and Lakers are among a group of teams that includes the Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics that have expressed interest in the six-time All-Star.

This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.

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The Golden State Warriors enter Game 5 looking to do what only one other NBA franchise has done in Finals history. Coming back from a 3-1 deficit has been historically improbable, but according to ESPN.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski, reinforcements are on their way.

With Kevin Durant planning to play for the first time in this series against Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors, Bleacher Report asked five NBA writers to break down the impact the two-time Finals MVP could have. 

The Steph Impact

Basketball analysis can be overly reactive. Snap judgment characterizations of players after a game result in recency bias that changes how the world perceives the NBA’s top talent.

In Golden State’s first eight playoff games of 2019, Kevin Durant finally overtook LeBron James as the world’s heir apparent. He then strained his calf, and whether the Warriors are better without him became a talking point. With Durant out of the way, Kawhi Leonard’s historic playoff run then became enough for him to scoop up the mantle. Who knows what snap judgment is next?

Rather than thinking the “WaRrIoRs ArE bEtTeR wItHoUt DuRaNt,” think how much better Durant and Steph Curry make each other.

Without Durant, the Warriors have loaded up on Curry. From box-and-ones to double-teams, the Raptors have been openly cutting off the Warriors’ engine and daring the spare parts to beat them. Curry has gotten his points, but the Raptors can’t rely on paying all their attention to him anymore. With more shot creation and shooting on the floor, Curry will have more room to operate.

This Finals, the Warriors have not been able to use their small-ball lineup, which has been their trump card during this dynastic run. That will change Monday. It allows them to speed things up, revamp their defense and supercharge their offense. With another premier shot creator forcing the defense to gravitate toward him, Steph can be Steph, and that would give the Warriors a chance.

Buckle up!

—Will Gottlieb

Offensive Impact

How much Kevin Durant impacts the Warriors offense will depend heavily on what he looks like.

A fully healthy return inoculates their offense against any foggy stretches. Golden State is averaging under 0.92 points per half-court possession in the series, a far cry from the 1.03 it posted before the Finals. Durant’s size, length and handle are teflon against Toronto’s defensive pressure.

If the Warriors are playing him more out of necessity than readiness, they risk diminishing that impact. That, for the time being, is fine. They can’t afford to care. Their non-Stephen Curry, non-Klay Thompson players are shooting under 27 percent from three for the series, and Durant is at the very least another option who will split Kawhi Leonard’s defensive focus, and who allows head coach Steve Kerr to trot out the hyper-effective Draymond Green-at-center lineups that have barely breathed air in his absence.

Basically, the Warriors need whatever version of Durant they can get—even if it’s a half-hobbled iteration only suited to drain set jumpers off the catch.

—Dan Favale

Defensive Impact

Everybody is right to focus on the way KD will ease the scoring strain, but you can’t overlook how he can change things on the other end. His absence is one of the main reasons the Warriors haven’t been able to lean on their undersized lineups, which short-circuits their switching schemes. With Durant back, Golden State can slot Draymond Green at center, resurrect the Hamptons 5 and show the Raptors a look they haven’t seen in this series.

The Warriors have gotten themselves into trouble defensively by sending two defenders to the ball and failing to rotate quickly enough when Toronto whips the ball around. The Raptors have generated heaps of open shots that way and converted a high percentage of them.

Now, if the Warriors can switch more liberally with Durant in the lineup, perhaps those tic-tac-toe sequences will disappear for Toronto. And even if Golden State continues to aggressively double when the opportunity arises, the help rotations should be quicker.

The smart money is on Durant’s return being too little, too late. But if he’s remotely healthy, he’ll unlock one of the Warriors’ most potent defensive looks.

—Grant Hughes

Impact On Raptors

It’s unrealistic to expect Kevin Durant to be close to 100 percent when he takes the court Monday, given that he hasn’t played in over a month and was only cleared to return to practice 24 hours ago. But the Raptors defense has been dominant in this series by swarming Curry and daring the likes of Quinn Cook and Alfonzo McKinnie to make enough shots to beat them.

That isn’t going to work anymore with even the threat of a healthy Durant. Curry has been the Warriors’ only reliable shot creator in the Finals to this point, and that changes with KD back.

Equally intriguing will be how Durant changes the Warriors defensively. When healthy, he’s a game-changer at that end. But his physical condition will likely limit him, and it wouldn’t be a shock if the Raptors target him at that end and make him prove he’s healthy.

Durant’s return adds plenty of intrigue to Game 5 and beyond, but it’s likely going to be too little, too late.

—Sean Highkin

Series Impact

With Durant back, Game 5 almost feels like a must-win for the Raptors. It’s wild to say that about the team up 3-1, but consider what Durant has done in the Finals over his career. 

Among players with at least 100 minutes in the league’s biggest series, Durant has the highest average game score, with Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal rounding out the top five.

Toronto should have little interest in exposing itself to KD for more than one game. If the Warriors steal Monday’s tilt in Canada, you have to figure they will be favored in Game 6. Then, there’s the unpredictability of a Game 7.

All the while, Durant will be getting more treatment and presumably getting more up to speed.

Golden State has had no answer for Kawhi through four games. Now it might, and that could make all the difference.

—Andy Bailey

Zion Williamson is widely expected to be the No. 1 pick of the 2019 NBA draft, but the team that owns that selection will finally get a chance to evaluate him for itself.

According to Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic, Williamson will meet with the New Orleans Pelicans this week while also visiting the city.

The Pelicans won the first overall selection in the lottery despite having just a six percent chance to draft first. 

Although there is no guarantee Williamson’s name will be called on June 20, the team is already excited about the possibility of having the former Duke star on the roster. General manager David Griffin discussed the impact the lottery had on the organization in May, via Nathan Brown of the New Orleans Advocate.

“What it’s doing to a franchise and a city like New Orleans, I don’t think it’s even measurable at this moment. There’s a groundswell of excitement, and it’s palpable. Several good things are starting to happen, and positive energy breeds positive energy. Now we have to go make it mean something. This is a lot of fun, but we have to build a winner now.”

Head coach Alvin Gentry had a simple response of “F— yeah” after hearing the results of the lottery, via Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Pelicans are already considering Williamson part of the core alongside Jrue Holiday as the team tries to build a playoff contender through the Anthony Davis trade.

This could make the upcoming meeting more of a formality, but the Pelicans will still want to do their due diligence to make sure he is the right fit for the organization. If he’s not, we could see a monster trade for the first overall pick.

With the Golden State Warriors on the brink of elimination, Kevin Durant reportedly will play in Monday’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors.  

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported Durant “plans to play” in the elimination game after Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area first reported Durant was “expected to be a full go” in his return from injury.

Durant has not played since Game 5 of Golden State’s second-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets because of a strained calf.

While Golden State managed to close out the Rockets in Game 6 of that series and then sweep the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals, they have been no match for the Raptors during the NBA Finals to this point.

After Golden State tied the series at 1-1, Toronto won in Game 3 against a Warriors team that was without both KD and Klay Thompson. While Thompson returned for Game 4, the Raptors prevailed 105-92 on the road to secure a 3-1 series lead.

ESPN’s Jalen Rose said on NBA Countdown that Durant attempted to go through a workout Thursday prior to Friday’s Game 4, but noted that it “didn’t go well on any level.”

Although Golden State is still dangerous when Thompson, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green are in the lineup, Durant’s importance cannot be understated.

Prior to getting injured, Durant led all players in playoff scoring with 34.2 points per game on 51.3 percent shooting.

KD is also the reigning two-time NBA Finals MVP, and his absence has put essentially all of the scoring burden on Curry and Thompson during these Finals. Additionally, the Warriors have missed Durant’s length and athleticism on defense to counter Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam.

With Durant set to end his nine-game absence, the Warriors may have the mental edge entering Game 5 even though they trail 3-1 in the series.

Even if Durant isn’t 100 percent, having him on the court should force the Raptors to take some of their defensive attention away from the likes of Curry and Thompson.

Merely having Durant as a decoy who can chip in a bit on offense significantly increases Golden State’s chances of winning Game 5 and sending the series back to Oakland for Game 6.

New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin has reportedly begun laying a “framework” that the team would accept in any Anthony Davis trade.

ESPN.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Griffin “hasn’t sounded convinced that a singular team is likely to fulfill his wishes” in a trade package. Griffin is looking for an “All-Star player, a young player with All-Star potential and two first-round picks,” according to the report.

The Pelicans have thus considered what type of package they could get as part of a multi-team trade. It’s unlikely any one team would be willing to part ways with all four of those assets mentioned. Wojnarowski noted that the asking price is a “sliding scale,” though, so a team with high draft picks may have an advantage.

There’s also a fair bit of posturing that has to be done in any negotiation. Griffin may want the world in a trade package. What he gets will ultimately be a different story. Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Kyrie Irving have each gotten traded in recent seasons for packages worth far less than their individual value.

Griffin isn’t going to give away Davis for free, but he may have a tough time finding a team willing to give up an All-Star player. Any team that trades for Davis will be doing so with eyes at competing for a championship. 

A quick look at the 2019 All-Stars list shows how unlikely the Pelicans are to get an All-Star in return. The only ones that seem potentially available and plausible are D’Angelo Russell and Khris Middleton. Both Russell and Middleton are free agents and would have to agree to a sign-and-trade. While the Bucks have not been mentioned as a Davis destination, Wojnarowski noted that some smaller-market teams could be aggressive after seeing the success Leonard has had in Toronto.

The Pelicans are also planning to build around Zion Williamson and Jrue Holiday, meaning that Holiday is unlikely to be traded.

Griffin is said to want to complete a trade involving a 2019 draft pick before the June 20 draft, which would move up the timeframe of a potential deal. The New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers have been chief among the teams discussing deals with New Orleans.

The Lakers have been Davis’ preferred destination.