What Team Will Anthony Davis Play for in the 2019-20 NBA season?

It wouldn’t be a typical NBA season if a star player didn’t request a trade and as we get closer to the league’s February 7 trade deadline, Anthony Davis has made it known he doesn’t intend to stick with the New Orleans Pelicans long term.

As a result, oddsmakers have scrambled to release betting odds for where the Brow will end up playing next season, with the Los Angeles Lakers as the odds-on favorite at one sportsbook and the Boston Celtics as the favorite at another.

Online sportsbook Sportsbook has the Lakers as a -125 favorite to land Davis and have him in purple and gold for the Sportsbook night of the 2019-20 regular season. Next on the list are the Boston Celtics (+150), New Orleans Pelicans (+600), New York Knicks (+850) and Philadelphia 76ers (+850).

At another shop, Sportsbook has the Boston Celtics as +150 favorites followed by the Los Angeles Lakers (+300), Toronto Raptors (+300), New Orleans Pelicans (+500), New York Knicks (+1000), Philadelphia 76ers (+1200), Golden State Warriors (+1600), Houston Rockets (+2000), Oklahoma City Thunder (+2500) and San Antonio Spurs (+2500) to round out their list. 

Let’s dive into why the Lakers and Celtics are the favorites and if you should bet on this prop.

Should the Lakers and Celtics Swoop In Now?

It almost seems like a foregone conclusion for Anthony Davis to end up in Lakers colors based on this news coming out now and not after the trade deadline. The Lakers may not be able to offer the best trade package compared to, say, the Celtics, but they do have intriguing pieces that could cushion the blow of the Pelicans losing their best player. Initial reports have Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Ivica Zubac and a first-round pick going to the Bayou and a lot of these rumors come down to one unknown thing: Where does Davis want to play long term?

LeBron James and Anthony Davis share the same agent.

The Brow has not made his intentions known other than saying he wants to play with a team that is in championship contention and wins consistently. That doesn’t necessarily rule out the Celtics but what might is the presence of Kyrie Irving. When Boston traded for Irving, it put the C’s in a position where they can’t acquire another max player until July 1, which is conveniently when Kyrie can become a free agent. There could easily be a behind-closed-doors deal to re-sign Irving and trade for Davis after July 1 but the Celtics would be playing with fire knowing they could lose Kyrie if not handled properly and knowing how badly the Lakers want Davis as soon as possible.

Another reason why it makes sense for Davis to go to the Lakers is that he and LeBron James share the same agent. Ever since Davis signed with Klutch Sports, the writing has seemingly been on the wall that the Brow could end up in Los Angeles.

The one factor for why Davis could end up on another team other than the Celtics or Lakers is the recent trades of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. Teams can seemingly get a one-year audition to prove to Davis that they’re a contender and sign him long term, but that seems like a stretch at this stage. To be fair, I said the same thing about Leonard and the Raptors and look where he’s playing now.

What do you think? Do you think the Lakers or Celtics go all-in and trade for Anthony Davis now? Where do you think the Brow plays next season? Have your say in the comments.