Anthony Davis Talks About Rumors Surrounding Future With Pelicans

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

The New Orleans Pelicans are not a good basketball team. The struggling franchise hasn’t been able to put it together even with a legitimate superstar in Anthony Davis leading the way.

As if their struggles haven’t already been weighing heavily on the franchise, the Pelicans now have to deal with rumors surrounding Davis’ intentions in the long-term. A rumor surfaced this week about Davis possibly joining forces with Russell Westbrook on the Los Angeles Lakers down the road, but the 23-year-old refutes any interest in leaving New Orleans, via Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com:

“I don’t plan on leaving, so make sure you write that down,” Davis said when asked about trade speculation.

Davis claims he ignores trade rumors and reiterates that he’s with the Pelicans, via Duncan:

“I don’t pay attention to (the rumors),” Davis said. “I don’t know who said it or how it came about. I’m with the Pelicans right now.”

At this point in the season, with the NBA trade deadline (Feb. 23) looming, all sorts of rumors begin to surface regarding big-name players like Davis. It is no surprise that Davis claims not to know where the rumor came from and simply ignores any trade speculation.

Davis is currently under contract with the Pelicans through the 2020-21 NBA season. The rising star has a $127 million left on his deal, and it would almost certainly be a hard trade to match in salary.

As for Westbrook, the Oklahoma City Thunder star has one more season under contract after this year and has a player option for the 2018-19 season at $30.6 million. If Westbrook believes he can’t win it all in Oklahoma City, he may force his way out or simply leave the team in free agency in two years time.

Landing with the Lakers could be a possibility if the team is still looking for a star to replace Kobe Bryant.