Celtics undeterred in their pursuit of AD despite father's comments: Woj
Danny Ainge has been here before, and isn't phased by reports Anthony Davis is not looking at the Boston Celtics as a lock to re-sign if dealt there.
Nor, it seems, is he worried about Davis' father questioning the wisdom of playing for Boston after how they moved on from Isaiah Thomas, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski (via MassLive's Tom Westerholm):
"On Davis, Wojnarowski said Boston is aware that the campaign to get Davis to the Lakers will continue until at least the trade deadline, but the Celtics have communicated with the Pelicans that they plan to offer a generous package in the summer with their collection of young players and picks. Wojnarowski said the Pelicans have not received an offer from the Lakers (or anyone else) that would keep them from waiting until the spring."
The Celtics, for their part, are not worried about Kyrie Irving and his response to questions about his future before the New York Knicks game earlier this week (per Wojnarowski via Westerholm):
"Wojnarowski also said Irving’s comments earlier were not “optimal” for the Celtics, but that Boston has had ongoing conversations and an open dialogue with Irving, and they know they will be judged by Irving on their roster at the end of the season (which could include whether they deal for Davis)."
Building these kinds of teams takes a lot of different skills deployed simultaneously, and while the path to success is fraught with all sorts of obstacles, I am more comfortable being at this point than I might be with someone who hasn't been there before. It's going to be a tough week and (hopefully) long spring for everyone involved, least of all players who do not know if their play is likely to get them a spot on Boston's future roster - or to help them improve it by being a trade chip.
Ultimately, success with the team is in everyone's best interest, as no one knows what the New Orleans Pelicans actually most desire for a Davis trade package. One thing we can say with some degree of certainty, however, if despite all the madness circulating in the NBA media sphere, Boston seems to remain in pole position for The Brow's services, as no traction for competing deals seems to be taking place - fingers crossed.
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