Leading up to the NBA trade deadline on February 7th, the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis made waves as it was leaked that both had a mutual desire for each other. Essentially, Davis wanted to get out of New Orleans and join LeBron James of the Lakers. Trade rumors were flung around and everything was done in a pretty public way. Eventually, the Pelicans never traded Davis and now he's stuck with the team until the end of the season. Now though, a report from Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated states that some sources close to the situation feel as though a deal could have been made if the negotiations had been done a little bit more lowkey.
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"Handled quietly, and the Pelicans might have been more open to dealing with the Lakers, sources familiar with the situation told The Crossover," Mannix explained. "But Davis’s attempt to bully his way to LA, coupled with internal questions about whether the Lakers, who are headlined by LeBron James, who is represented by Rich Paul, who also represents Davis, had a hand in all this only served to cement the Pelicans resistance to dealing with Los Angeles—for now, anyway."
Both teams are currently outside of a playoff spot, with the Pelicans ranked 13th in the Western Conference and the Lakers ranked 10th.