Boston Celtics Op/Ed: Time to withdraw from Anthony Davis sweepstakes

Rumors continue to swirl regarding Anthony Davis and his trade destination(s), with the Boston Celtics reportedly still in pursuit of the superstar.

It’s time for the Boston Celtics to say “no” once and for all to their attempts at trading for New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis.

Yes, it’s true he’s a player who can elevate a team. And there are plenty of reasons Davis is a better fit in the Boston organization than anywhere else. However, with no guarantees he’d even be in Boston for the long term, much more is to be lost than gained in a trade.

Davis has been the focal point of the Pelicans the past seven seasons, starting as a rookie in the 2012-13 season. The then Hornets won 27 wins in that season and reached a pinnacle in 2017-18, where Davis led the team to 48 wins and an appearance in the Western Conference semifinals.

Despite Davis averaging a double-double in his career (23.7 ppg, 10.5 rpg), New Orleans only twice had a record over .500. And he has never played more than 75 games in a season.

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This past season, a leaked trade demand not only halted the progress of his team — and his minutes — it may have undone the playoffs and title aspirations of two other teams in the process: the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Each team had a young core surrounded by a superstar. Once speculation of trade destinations and the players possibly involved, the vibe of each team took a hit. One, the Lakers, imploded while the Celtics continued on with their inconsistent play.  We saw players play only for themselves, knowing minutes on a winning franchise could be their last.

Here we are in the offseason, once again playing a game of “will he or won’t he”. Time to move on from it.

Keeping the Celtics intact

Davis clearly wants, even though he can’t come out and say it himself, to play for the Lakers. His agent has indicated Davis will only play for Boston for a year if traded to the Celtics. He already essentially gave up on his current organization so why should fans of the Celtics believe he’d be devoted to winning in Boston? Or, if Davis is acquired, can we be all in simply for a championship and hope for the best after?

Sure, it recently worked out perfectly for Kawhi Leonard and leading the Toronto Raptors to their first championship. Even then, who knows how their future looks if Leonard decides to take his hardware and his talents elsewhere?

Davis is an exemplary player but to acquire him would be mortgaging away the future. Kyrie Irving is likely gone and, if that is the case, Davis is still not paired with another superstar. A trade would likely involve the loss of Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown or Marcus Smart or a combination of the three. This leaves Davis playing on a team that essentially resembles the New Orleans Pelicans of the east.

I’d rather see the Celtics move on from pursuing Davis and stick with building around the trio of Tatum, Brown, and Smart. It’s better to be a strong team, contending for years to come, than to sacrifice everything for a one-year shot at the title. Plus, the Eastern Conference is only getting stronger and no longer the perceived guarantee of winning as it once was.

One needs to look no further than the 2018-19 season as proof of that.