What this means for the Pelicans
You’d think that AD would give a second thought to sticking around in New Orleans with the news that Zion Williamson could be joining him in that front court next season. But AD didn’t take long to make it known that he still wants out from the Pelicans organization after the way that front office handled his deadline situation.
Our #NBA Insider @ShamsCharania reports that, despite the Pelicans winning the No. 1 pick in the Draft Lottery, Anthony Davis' stance on a trade hasn't changed.
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) May 15, 2019
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While the Pelicans could have a more functional front office with Dell Demps out of the mix now and David Griffin running it all, it seems like all impressions that AD needed were previously made. Even the idea of playing with Zion didn’t intrigue Davis enough to want to stick around beyond this summer.
There’s only so much that the Pels front office can do at this point to convince AD that Zion is worth sticking around for. But, this is ultimately the fault of the Pelicans for taking such a weird and counterproductive approach to managing the AD trade situation during the month of February.
The thought is still there that Zion vaults the Pelicans into playoff contention in the Western Conference. But the loss of AD would outweigh the addition of Zion. AD is a top superstar in the NBA and he’s more suited to a team in contention now than Zion would be for the building Pelicans.