Ryan Anderson has dominated the NBA’s trade rumor mill almost as much as the Phoenix Suns’ Markieff Morris.
And the New Orleans Pelicans, for the life of them, cannot figure out why.
Or rather, head coach Alvin Gentry cannot figure out why.
Per the New Orleans Advocate‘s Brett Dawson:
Alvin Gentry says of Pelicans: "We've not made one call about trading Ryan (Anderson)."
— Brett Dawson (@BDawsonWrites) January 6, 2016
This can be misleading.
The Pelicans may not be actively calling other teams and dangling Anderson in negotiations, but that doesn’t mean they’re not answering the phone. Anderson will be a free agent after this season, and New Orleans has already invested in a frontcourt that, long term, they clearly hope will feature Anthony Davis at power forward, Anderson’s position.
Unless the Pelicans move Alexis Ajinca and/or Omer Asik, and commit to playing Davis mostly at center, as they have this season, retaining Anderson will be unnecessarily pricey. He isn’t quick enough to guard opposing 3s, and with the season he’s having, he might be done with coming off the bench—especially for a team like New Orleans that isn’t guaranteed a playoff spot every year, even with Davis in tow.
