Should New Orleans move on from Davis?
If the Pelicans shoot out of the gate hot and somehow make this thing work, there is no “Anthony Davis trade value” discussion. Their owner craves a taste of the playoffs, and if they’re in the thick of it, Davis will stay in the Big Easy through at least February of 2019.
The consensus is that this won’t be the case. The Pelicans are projected to finish around .500 and in the bottom third of the West. Lowe, as knowledgeable as anyone, has already indicated he’s leaning towards picking them to miss the playoffs. The Solomon Hill injury only hurts.
If New Orleans does decide to pivot towards a rebuild, the good news is that they own all of their draft picks moving forward. If they trade Davis for a combination of picks and young players and let Cousins walk next summer (or trade him at the deadline, should this season really spiral out of control), it will be easy to bottom out in the West.
Even with Holiday on the roster, the Lakers, Suns, and Kings are all likely to improve in the coming years. It’s not hard to envision a stripped-down Pelicans squad ending up with a top three pick in 2019.