Anthony Davis Reveals the Story Behind His 2019 Departure

Washington Wizards star Anthony Davis has made a surprising admission about one of the turning points of his career. Appearing as a guest on Draymond Green's podcast, Davis revealed that his split from the New Orleans Pelicans effectively traces back to a decision made at the 2019 NBA Draft. Davis recalled telling then-general manager David Griffin: "If you can get Ja Morant at one, then we've got a real conversation going on because I know how it's going to help our team with Jrue."

According to the report, Davis explained that Jrue Holiday was a player who liked to handle the ball and set up others, meaning he was constantly telling Holiday to "go score" instead — whereas adding Morant would have given the team a player who could both score and create for others. However, Davis said Griffin told him he had to take Zion Williamson instead of Morant, noting that at the time he was only playing power forward and did not see how he and Williamson would fit together positionally.

Davis also pointed out that the Pelicans having just acquired Julius Randle the previous season further complicated matters, asking: "Was Zion going to play the three then? Were we going to bench Julius? Who was going to be left out? At the end of the day, you can't bench your No. 1 pick." After the Pelicans selected Williamson first overall in the 2019 Draft, Davis was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers within weeks and won his first championship by the end of that season, while Morant, selected second by the Memphis Grizzlies, went on to win Rookie of the Year that season.

Source: The Draymond Green Show
Image: Reuters