It’s in New Orleans’ best interest to rest Davis for the rest of the year, but it can’t happen. Here’s why.
Anthony Davis is going to be a New Orleans Pelican for at least another three months, which is uncomfortable for everyone involved. But the Pelicans claim they’ll still play their MVP candidate for the remainder of the season despite his inevitable departure.
“A number of factor contributed to this decision,” general manager Dell Demps said in a release. “Ultimately, Anthony made it clear to us that he wants to play and he gives our team the best opportunity to win games. Moreover, the Pelicans want to preserve the integrity of the game and align our organization with NBA policies.”
That last part is the most important. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the NBA office was “concerned about the possibility of a healthy star being forced to sit out in this situation.”
Clearly, the league was a threat here. The NBA could’ve taken action against the Pelicans if they chose to sit one of the league’s biggest names, and, from the league’s perspective, money-makers.
Davis was a threat as well, according to Yahoo’s Chris Haynes, because he could have filed a grievance should the Pels have tried to make him sit. In that case, an arbitrator would’ve solved the dispute, and it wouldn’t have ended well for New Orleans.
Why would the Pelicans want to sit Davis?
Despite AD being one of the best five or so players in the league, playing him can only bring harm to New Orleans. The Pelicans are no longer in the playoff hunt with a disgruntled superstar, and frankly, should want to lose at this point. Winning is bad!
The Pelicans own their own first-round pick, and the more losses they accumulate, the higher that pick could be in June’s draft. New Orleans has to be looking towards a Davis-less future now.
Even bigger than the pick, though, is the franchise-altering risk that Davis could get hurt. It’s in the team’s best interest to do everything they can to keep him healthy so they’re able to trade him for the best possible return. An injured Davis is worth a lot less on the market than a healthy one.
That’s why, according to Woj, fans should expect “ fewer, if any, back-to-backs and a reduction in minutes from his 37 per game.”
So what now?
Awkwardness and just skating by the rules. Davis will play some games, rest a few, and his workload will be limited. Demps and AD will have to play a song and dance as to not get on the NBA’s or each other’s bad side.
But it won’t be easy. Heck, New Orleans already stripped AD from their pregame video.
This is the risk they both took, though, in their deadline decisions. Davis didn’t have to request a trade so soon, and the Pelicans didn’t have to keep him past the deadline. Now, they must both deal with the consequences of those decisions.