The New Orleans Pelicans are not actively shopping free-agent-to-be Ryan Anderson.
And the team’s head coach, Alvin Gentry, clearly wants us to know that much.
After previously saying the Pelicans weren’t making calls to gauge Anderson’s value around the league, Gentry reiterated that any interest in Anderson is coming from potential suitors, not New Orleans’ desire to ship him elsewhere.
Here’s what he said, courtesy of USA Today‘s Sam Amick:
On the Ryan Anderson rumors (he’ll be a free agent this summer) …
“Yeah, but (he is consistently mentioned privately to reporters) by the other teams. Not by us, though. It’s always the other team. We like Ryan on our team. He and AD really complement each other. He’s playing some really good basketball for us. I wouldn’t take a (complete) look at his numbers, because now everybody gameplans for him and he doesn’t get all the shots that he used to get. But he’s been playing good basketball for us, has been a good rebounder. We like him. Our guys like him on our team. And as I said, we have not made one (trade) call about him, but we’ve got a ton of calls that have come in about him.”
Basically, Gentry wants us to know that if the Pelicans do trade Anderson, which is distinctly possible, it won’t be because they’re desperate to deal him. Cool.
Gentry specifically, though, has to want Anderson in New Orleans. His offense demands the presence of a stretch 4, and while Anthony Davis is chucking threes now, Anderson is the more established three-point shooter. Davis is better suited at center in today’s league anyway, as a quasi-stretch 5 that would allow the Pelicans to partially emulate how the Golden State Warriors, with whom Gentry was an assistant last season, play on a regular basis.
But the Pelicans will have $30-plus million invested in the Omer Asik-Davis frontcourt pairing next season alone, and it’s unlikely they fund the eight annual figures Anderson will command on the open market. So unless they find a way to move Asik’s huge deal, trading Anderson before he presumably leaves for nothing this summer feels inevitable.
