The New Orleans Pelicans are approaching one of the biggest decisions in the franchise's history with the Anthony Davis trade talks.
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After the Feb. 7 trade deadline passed, the NBA forced the Pelicans to play Davis rather than sit him and protect his trade value as the franchise reportedly preferred. According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, there's a belief that acting general manager Danny Ferry could approach the league this week about rethinking their stance of forcing Davis to suit up on a nightly basis.
"There were strong signals in Charlotte that the Pelicans - with Danny Ferry now serving as their acting general manager in the wake of Friday's firing of Dell Demps - intend to re-engage the N.B.A. this week in hopes of convincing league officials to rethink their stance about forcing them to play Davis."
Ferry took over as general manager for New Orleans after Dell Demps was relieved of his duties last week. Demps was let go as the frustration within the franchise's ownership reached a boiling point after Davis left the arena with a shoulder injury against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 14.
It appears that the Pelicans would like to play Davis a whole lot less following the All-Star break and prevent any further injuries. It's also possible that New Orleans would love to send Davis home and keep his high trade value intact with the offseason being just a few months away.
In a tumultuous season, Davis has still put together averages of 28.1 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks while shooting 50.8 percent from the field. Prior to the All-Star break, Davis scored 14 points or less in three of the four contests and only played five minutes for Team LeBron in the All-Star Game.
Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry did announce on Thursday that Davis will play in Friday's game against the Indiana Pacers (7 p.m. ET -- watch on fuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension). It'll be worth keeping an eye on how many minutes Davis will play while this situation continues to unfold.
