CHARLOTTE (AFP) – New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis said Saturday he would welcome a trade to the Boston Celtics or any other NBA team, stretching his desired list of prospective new clubs.
The 25-year-old forward repeated his desire to play in Sunday’s 68th NBA All-Star Game but said he would have to see how his bruised left shoulder felt ahead of tip-off in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Davis has been the talk of the NBA the past couple of weeks since he confirmed what his agent revealed, that the star big man wants a trade from the Pelicans and won’t sign a new long-term deal with New Orleans.
No deal was struck by last week’s NBA trade deadline, with reports that Davis first wanted a deal only to New York or the Los Angeles Lakers, later adding Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Clippers to the list.
At the time, the Boston Celtics were thought to be the team with the most to offer the Pelicans in return but the report revealing Davis wanted out in New Orleans indicated he did not want to go to Boston.
Davis says that’s not so, repeating several times on Saturday of the Celtics that ‘’they are on my list’’ while telling the NBA’s television network ‘‘all 29 other teams are on my list’’ and he had no preferred destination.
‘‘I just want to go to a team that wins,’’ Davis said.
After the Lakers were spurned in overtures for Davis, the Pelicans announced the dismissal Friday of general manager Dell Demps, who couldn’t build a consistent winner.
