Into the Fire: AD Will Take Flight

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Anthony Davis has experienced a lot during his first five years in the NBA. His raw talent immediately guided him to become one of the NBA’s elite players. He became the face of a franchise with expectations and stroke. That stroke led to the team making a blockbuster trade for DeMarcus Cousins. That blockbuster trade put Davis on the cusp of not only being an elite player, but the leader of a team who believed they he and the Pelicans were on the right path to becoming an elite contender. Then Boogie was injured and all of that pain that came before Cousins arrived in town, came rushing back into the organization and most notably, Anthony Davis. With a new low in morale reached before the All Star break, the media and even his mentors asked AD about whether New Orleans is still the best place for him to be in order to win. Davis was quoted over All Star Weekend 2018 saying, “it really makes you think.”

That is troubling if you are a fan of New Orleans Pelicans basketball. While most people still did not see the Pels as too far down the road towards big time success, we all recognized that Davis was very pleased with the direction the organization was going simply because the front office was doing all they could to get good players around him. The good news is that Davis saw that and knows that the people in charge want what he wants. The real troubling part is the fact that it most likely is not meant to be for Anthony Davis in New Orleans. Constant injuries and a lack of wiggle room in the coming years to beef up with max contract players could wind up leading to Davis choosing greener pastures in the next 2 to 3 years.

That is down the road though and there is plenty left to experience for Anthony Davis and the Pelicans before these kind of decisions are made. While the media will never talk about the here and the now when it comes to The Association, Davis and his teammates seem focused on preserving what they can from this season. Having only been to the playoffs once in his already illustrious career, Anthony Davis is a true competitor and I have no doubt he will do everything he can to make he and the organization put everything into making this year’s playoffs, even if it is as an 8 seed. For the Pels, getting to the playoffs and losing in round one is still better than having an angry and defeated superstar on their hands. The Pelicans have lost Boogie Cousins for the season, but that could be manageable and something they can overcome. What cannot happen is for Anthony Davis to lose hope.

Kevin Garnett told Davis about staying in one place for too long during the mid-season NBA fiesta in L.A. and if Anthony Davis thinks about his situation and how similar it is to the other legendary big, the Pelicans could be screwed. You might as well consider them the Minnesota Timberwolves of the south, because that is what they will become if Anthony Davis thinks about it too much. If Davis plays and the front office gets creative, this thing can still happen. Most importanly, if Boogie Cousins returns from injury and is back to form, the train will be completely back on the tracks.

Boogie returning and not skipping a beat would be the ideal scenario for fans, the front office, and Davis. It is interesting though to think that just a few months ago we were talking about how the front office needed to keep Boogie happy and how the Pels needed to show significant strides this season just to keep Boogie in town. Now we begin the second half of the season and it is Boogie who needs to do do the convincing to keep Davis in town with his rehab and play on court. The shoe is on the other foot and you know what? It really makes you think.

– Alan Michael