NEW ORLEANS — Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said Monday that All-Star center Anthony Davis has been cleared to return to practice, after suffering a sprained left index finger in January that has kept him off the court for seven games.
Whether Davis will play another game for the Pelicans remains another question that Gentry couldn’t answer.
“He’s been cleared to practice. So he’ll practice,” Gentry said.
Asked if Davis will actually play once he’s ready, Gentry repeated that the center had been cleared to practice. Gentry was then asked whether he’s authorized to make the decision on when Davis will play.
“I don’t make those decisions,” Gentry said. “I was told that he was cleared to practice. That’s what I know.”
Davis requested a trade from the Pelicans last week, and New Orleans is now aware of a list of teams the center would sign with long-term that includes the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers, according to a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Citing league sources, Wojnarowski also reported that Lakers president Magic Johnson made a more robust bid Monday to the Pelicans for Davis, and offered salary-cap relief to the Pelicans, as well as multiple young players, including Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma, in addition to draft picks.
Johnson and Pelicans general manager Dell Demps had multiple conversations on Monday, league sources told Wojnarowski.
“I haven’t been through anything like this,” Gentry said of Davis’ trade demand. “You deal with it. It’s out there. Everybody knows it. So you deal with it.”
The NBA’s trade deadline falls on Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.
Davis prefers a move to the Lakers, league sources told Wojnarowski.
New Orleans learned on Monday of Davis’ new extended list of teams that he’d be willing to stay with long-term upon a trade. Those teams haven’t yet to made offers to New Orleans for Davis.
Davis informed the Pelicans that he wouldn’t sign a five-year, $239 million supermax contract this summer.