CHICAGO — Despite Anthony Davis being listed as questionable headed into Wednesday’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said the team plans to sit the five-time All-Star center until after Thursday’s trade deadline.
“He is [available], but we’re not going to play him until after the trading deadline,” Gentry said. “I think everybody can understand that.”
The NBA trade deadline expires at 3 p.m. ET Thursday.
Davis participated in Wednesday morning’s shootaround at the United Center, chatting with teammates and various assistant coaches, but he will miss his ninth consecutive game since suffering a left index finger injury on Jan. 18.
The Pelicans have gone 2-6 in his absence.
Davis requested a trade through agent Rich Paul a little more than a week ago, but he isn’t eligible to become a free agent until July 2020.
Davis’ preferred destinations include the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks. He has informed the Pelicans that he wouldn’t sign a five-year, $239 million supermax contract with the club this summer or next, and he’s also made it known that he doesn’t plan to sign an extension with any team this summer — as the plan is to do so once he becomes a free agent.
“Obviously, it’s on everyone’s mind,” Gentry said. “But we just try to put it on the backburner, and focus on the task at hand. I think everything kind of clears up [after Davis is traded], at least for a while. And you can go back to I guess whatever our new normal is going to be.
“It’s just part of it. It’s part of the business, and you just deal with it like you would anything else.”