After firing GM Dell Demps, Pelicans have one choice to make with Anthony Davis
Written By Jordan Greer
@jordangreer42
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The Pelicans decided to keep star forward Anthony Davis past the trade deadline, but it seems they didn't have the same level of patience when it came to their general manager.
New Orleans is firing Dell Demps, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The last straw for ownership was seeing Davis leave the Smoothie King Center on Thursday night after suffering a shoulder injury in the second quarter against the Thunder. (Yep, he walked right out the door.)
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Anthony Davis leaving the SKC with Rich Paul pic.twitter.com/lUhFTfWETb
— Sharief Ishaq (@ShariefWDSU) February 15, 2019
Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said it best after New Orleans defeated Oklahoma City: "To tell you the truth, this whole thing has been a dumpster fire." The only possible thing wrong with that statement is whether the comparison is fair to dumpster fires.
The Davis saga has been full of ugly twists and turns ever since his agent, Rich Paul, went public with a trade request. There was an information war going on between the Lakers and Pelicans as the trade deadline approached with allegations of tampering, bad faith negotations and sneaky, underhanded tactics.
Demps didn't lose his job only because of the Davis saga — he made plenty of poor choices over a nine-year run as GM — but New Orleans owner Gayle Benson clearly realized Demps is not capable of leading this small-market team to consistent success. The Pelicans will now search for someone who can "take back control from outside sources," according to Wojnarowski.
If that's the short- and long-term mission, the Pels must do one thing right now: sit Davis for the rest of the 2018-19 season, no matter the consequences. There is zero upside to putting Davis on the floor.
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Davis is the most valuable NBA trade asset in decades, and any sort of serious injury would crater his value. The Pelicans already got a scare with his shoulder injury, and there is always risk something worse could happen over their final 23 games. Plus, wins don't matter because the Pelicans aren't making the playoffs. A productive Davis does nothing but hurt the team's draft position. New Orleans should be just fine losing down the stretch.
The NBA reportedly would have fined the Pelicans $100,000 per game if they deliberately sat Davis, though the league pushed back on that idea, saying Davis should play due to "league rules governing competitive integrity." Whether it's about money or integrity, New Orleans should either list Davis as part of the injury report or simply offer to pay any potential fines.
Davis has the right to ask for a trade, so the Pels should have the right to bench a player who doesn't want to be there. It would not be the first time a healthy player has been exiled.
The Pelicans are being held to a standard that the NBA has not held other teams to this season. A very healthy Carmelo Anthony was essentially exiled by the Rockets in November. Memphis' Chandler Parsons and Cleveland's JR Smith, too https://t.co/Bil6Ci8M1G
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 11, 2019
This also can't possibly be enjoyable for anyone on the Pelicans' roster and coaching staff.
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Gentry becomes more annoyed with each Davis-related question. Davis got booed in his first home game after the request, and he played the worst game of his career in a 30-point loss to the Magic on Tuesday. The NBA might argue fans pay to watch a top-five guy like Davis, but do they want to see this version of him?
In the Pelicans' 30-point loss to the Magic, Anthony Davis was 1-9 FG, 1-2 FT for a 32.9 offensive rating - his lowest ever in a game in which he played at least 20 minutes.
📊 https://t.co/jjM8N24ecv pic.twitter.com/O0erVFaDS0
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 13, 2019
And that impressive win against the Thunder heading into the All-Star break was overshadowed by Davis' departure from the arena. As long as he's around, the Pels can't truly move forward in a positive way.
New Orleans is stuck with Davis until the offseason when it can re-engage suitors and survey the market for the best possible trade package. Until then, though, Davis and the Pelicans find themselves in this weird basketball purgatory, and it's only going to get worse the longer he's (sort of) with the team.
The Pelicans understood it was time for Demps to go. He wasn't part of the franchise's future, and it didn't make sense to drag things out.
So why is Davis still playing?