Rumor updates on Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving

If you missed any of the rapid fire rumors and “buzz” surrounding Anthony Davis (and Kyrie Irving) this is my attempt to get you up to speed.

First, a little perspective before we dive into the rumors. Our old friend Kevin O’Connor sums up the Pelicans’ situation nicely here:

Ultimately, the Pelicans should listen to incoming offers, and if one is too good to pass up, sure, you take it. But I think the best course of action is for the Pelicans to try to sit Davis for the remainder of the season. Waiting until this summer to make a decision would increase their own odds of winning the lottery, while giving teams like the Celtics, Knicks, and others time to gather their best offers. The upside is too good to pass up.

David Aldridge goes a step further and says that Boston is where New Orleans can get the most value if they wait till the summer.

With word breaking that Anthony Davis will not sign a contract extension with New Orleans after this season and wants out via trade, it falls on Demps, the Pelicans’ GM, to make a deal under the ultimate duress. How do you trade, perhaps, the league’s best two-way player, entering his prime at 25, knowing the NBA’s big sharks will now increase their stalking of him, and get anything approaching a fair return?

You trade him to Boston this summer.

No Lakers, no Warriors, no Clippers, no Knicks.

Boston.

Does that mean the Pelicans will just sit on their hands and deal with Boston? Not in the least. They’ll kick the tires all around town. Here are a few teams making phone calls.

And of course the Lakers (per Woj):

The Lakers are willing to forfeit the flexibility of a max contract slot in 2019 free agency for the chance to turn a combination of picks and their young assets -- who include Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and Lonzo Ball -- to acquire Davis.

Update: The Celtics are also making their pitch ...for the Pelicans to wait till the summer.

Another rumor making the rounds this evening is the potential of Kyrie Irving going to the Lakers this summer to play with LeBron James again.

The Lakers may need to get creative to force the Pelicans’ hand, but they have reason to be. While the news since last summer has been largely about stars not interested in being LeBron’s sidekick—George’s decision to re-sign with the Thunder, Jimmy Butler not having the Lakers on his reported preferred list and Kawhi Leonard reportedly favoring the Clippers—a source close to the Celtics confirmed that Kyrie Irving is genuinely interested in reuniting with his former Cavaliers teammate. “That is for real,” the source said.

Based on Irving’s comments both at the start of the season and throughout the year leave me a little skeptical about that. Sam Amick of The Athletic is also skeptical.

As for the notion that Irving isn’t a sure thing to re-sign anymore, reported on Monday by Yahoo! Sports, a source with knowledge of his situation said there is no reason to believe that’s the case. Still, between his locker room issues with teammates and his recent phone call to apologize to LeBron about their occasional clashes in Cleveland, Irving has managed to spark a league-wide conversation about whether he’ll follow through on his early October promise that he’d be back. Considering Davis’ alleged interest in the Celtics has been widely believed to be tied to Irving’s long-term presence, it’d behoove all involved in Boston to clear the air on this front as soon as possible.

Finally, as always, remember to use a hint of common sense with all of these rumors. (Click the tweet to see a whole thread of use-your-head comments).

Thanks Keith!