When it comes to the Anthony Davis sweepstakes, timing is everything


Like many Boston Celtics fans, recent rumors regarding Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving may have you nervous.


Fear not! The schedule has been planned and executed with precision so far, if I'm reading things right.

Consider the following:

  • The timing of Davis' trade request is not especially surprising; it's about as late in the season as he could have gone without signaling he might be open to staying, and when teams would be most likely in that stretch of him being under contract that his old team might be able to get a good haul, and thus be more open to cooperating.
  • The Celtics always have, and will likely remain, the team with the best potential package, no matter which way the New Orleans Pelicans front office wishes to turn. They have been laser-focused on this exact sequence of events and the ways it might unfold and who might try to get in their way, how, and with what, for some time in one of the league's worst-kept secrets.
  • This is why Terry Rozier has no deal beyond this season, yet remains with the team. Should the worst happen concerning rumored desires for Irving to decamp to another team, the Louisville product is waiting in the wings while...wait for it...we do not trade the farm for AD.
Think about it - this is, quite literally, the most important moment in the career of one of sport's greatest competitors. It will define Ainge's (and quite possibly Boston's) legacy for decades. Nearly a decade-and-a-half has led up to this moment, and it simply will not matter what The Brow thinks about re-signing, because at that point it'll be pretty obvious how that'll play out unless Danny pulls some other rabbit out of his hate.

So, try not to get too freaked out by all the rumors going round in "silly season", as some refer to the week before the trade deadline. There's certainly plenty of ways this could go sideways, but Ainge is no idiot. We might miss out on AD, but a return to the wilderness era ain't going down on Danny's watch, so enjoy the scrambling of desperate teams from a relatively secure position as far as fandom goes.

It's going to be a crazy week, folks.



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Image: Steve Babineau/NBAE; video: Boston Celtics, Tomasz Kordylewski
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