Report: Anthony Davis' father doesn't want son on Celtics due to team's treatment of Isaiah Thomas
If the Boston Celtics want to convince Anthony Davis that they can be his long-term home following a potential trade, step 1 might be sitting down with the player’s father.
The elder Davis, Anthony Davis Sr., reportedly told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne on Friday that he has no interest in his son landing in Boston following his trade request from the New Orleans Pelicans. The reason why: how the team’s relationship with Isaiah Thomas ended.
Anthony Davis’ father on the Celtics: ‘No loyalty’
“I would never want my son to play for Boston after what they done to Isaiah Thomas,” Anthony Davis Sr. told ESPN on Friday, referencing the former Celtics star point guard who was traded for Kyrie Irving amid his recovery from a hip injury. “No loyalty. Guy gives his heart and soul and they traded him.”
Davis Sr. clarified that this is solely his opinion, and he can’t speak for his son.
“This is just my opinion, not Anthony’s,” he said. “I’ve just seen things over the years with Boston, and there’s no loyalty.”
The obvious disclaimer in there is that is just what Davis’ father thinks, though Davis reportedly isn’t very high on the idea of Boston as a long-term destination either.
Thomas was traded to Cleveland from Boston after three seasons with the Celtics, including the best year of his career in 2016-17. Thomas said he was “hurt” by the team’s shocking decision to trade him after playing through injuries and the death of his sister for them, though it wasn’t that tough to understand considering he had also said the team would have to “back up the Brinks truck” to extend him.
The trade was a strong reminder that the NBA is and will always be a business, so that might have left a bad taste in some mouths. Of course, you’ll also be hard-pressed to find a single person in basketball who doesn’t now think the Celtics made the right play with Thomas. The trade netted the team their current superstar in Kyrie Irving, while Thomas would proceed to bomb with the Cavaliers before ending up with the Lakers.
How Anthony Davis’ trade market is looking
The Celtics are widely considered to be the team that could put the most competitive offer in for Davis thanks to their large stable of young players and draft picks, but a quirk in the collective bargaining agreement wouldn’t allow them to make the trade until the offseason.
Davis is reportedly most interested in a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, with the New York Knicks another possibility, but it will likely be the Pelicans who decide what the player’s next team will be. So this could all be an attempt to make the trade seem less palatable for the Celtics and open things up for the Lakers.
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