Anthony Davis loves New Orleans. He loves the Pelicans fans. He considers his primary professional mission to be how to make the franchise successful. He loves the Louisiana food. Heck, as an extra little lagniappe, he even talks the slang. What a guy.
We know all of this information because Anthony Davis said so, quite recently, and the good people of New Orleans tried very hard to believe him for several reasons, possibly including the fact that his stern uni-brow somehow adds seriousness to his utterances.
And because not believing him? Well, that would have just been too painful to consider.
Monday slapped away all the fiction, wiped out the nonsense that Davis trotted out over the past months to hide the fact that he’s had his eye on a bigger market and a better team, probably the Los Angeles Lakers, for a good long while now.
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All the threads of hope that New Orleans fans clung to are gone, fizzled out by the revelation that the NBA’s most valuable big man will rebuff a new contract in the Big Easy and wants out. Like, ASAP. Thanks for the memories.
There’s always some kind of hope to cling to and sometimes it is only hindsight that makes it seem forlorn. That’s how Pelicans fans were able to convince themselves that Davis signed with Rich Paul’s Klutch Sports because Rich Paul is a great agent, not because he is Rich Paul … and LeBron James’ best friend. Yes, Rich Paul may well be a great agent, but again, he is LeBron James' best friend!
Then there were the sultry charms of the supermax provision that the NBA brought in to ostensibly help small market clubs keep possession of their top talent. Davis can make $87.3 million more in New Orleans than in any other city, cited fans and media reports aplenty, ignoring the reality that a trade kicker would make the difference far smaller than that. And the fiscal certainty that a couple of million per year would be made up for in a heartbeat by being in a major market.
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