Everyone is ready for Anthony Davis to leave but the Pelicans

If you were to draw up a list of franchise players, how far would you go down the list before getting to Anthony Davis? He’s already a five-time All-Star, a three-time All-NBA First Team performer, and at 25 years old, he’s still coming into his own.

Davis finished third in both the Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year award voting last season, making him arguably the most impactful two-way player in the game. This season, he’s averaging a career high in rebounds (12.4) while generating 4.9 assists; more than double any previous campaign.

However you define it, AD is a generational talent just beginning his prime years. Even once in a lifetime players need help. In six seasons going on seven, his Pelicans have been to the postseason only two times and they have made it out of the first round just once. That was last season when they steamrolled Portland and managed to get a game off the Warriors in the conference semifinals.

Aided by a revitalized Jrue Holiday, a full season of Niko Mirotic, and the addition of Julius Randle, optimism was high that the Pels would continue that momentum into this season. Instead, they rolled into Boston on Monday with a .500 record, sitting a few games outside the playoff chase in the hyper-competitive Western Conference. They left on the bad side of mediocrity with a crushing loss against a Celtic team that was missing three starters.

With a decision on a contract extension looming this summer, Davis and New Orleans are closer than ever to the inevitable crossroads that will define both the player and the only team he’s ever known.

Davis has consistently made it be known that he wants to be the player who turns New Orleans into a consistent winner. He grows weary at even the slightest hint that he might be looking elsewhere, and he seems to genuinely love the place. New Orleans fits AD and AD fits New Orleans in a way that you want to believe is well, special.

Every young franchise player has a ticking clock in the form of contracts and extensions. The first extension is for lifetime financial security. The second is for personal and professional happiness. They are not the same thing.

Davis is in the third season of a five-year max deal with an option following the 2020 season. The Pelicans can offer AD an extension this summer for more money than anyone else can match. If he agrees to terms, the clock is extended and NOLA will breath a heavy sigh of relief. If he demurs, the bidding will begin immediately.

It can’t be lost on Davis that many of his contemporaries have already executed their exit strategies. Paul George and Kyrie Irving maneuvered their way out of Indiana and Cleveland, respectively, for better long-term plays in Oklahoma City and Boston. Kawhi Leonard did the same, although his future is far from certain. Jimmy Butler took that approach to its extreme when he bounced from Chicago to Minnesota to Philly in the span of 17 months.

All of those exits were necessarily messy. The structure of the league is such that players need to maximize their leverage before they hit free agency in order to play where they want to work, and also reap the full financial benefits. No team wants to give up on its young stars, particularly when they were drafted and developed with the hope that they would be that rare exception that stays with the team that nurtured him.

From all appearances, Davis doesn’t want this to be messy. He may not have a choice if he wants to leave.

It also can’t be lost on AD that in his seven season with New Orleans, he’s played with exactly one other All-Star: DeMarcus Cousins, and that was for 65 games over parts of two seasons. The partnership with Cousins never truly had a chance to take flight before Boogie ruptured his Achilles, and the franchise was once again forced to change tactics on the fly.

Over the years, AD’s top teammates have included: Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans, and Ryan Anderson. Solid pros all, but hardly co-stars. The best player of AD’s tenure has been Holiday, who has blossomed into a two-way force.

With Holiday, Mirotic, and Randle around AD, this is the core of a decent team. In the West, decent gets you two playoff appearances in six years.

It definitely wasn’t lost on AD that the Garden crowd cheered his introduction. He acknowledged it in his postgame remarks. The Celtics have been saving their rainy day assets for the exact moment when Davis and agent Rich Paul make a decision about his future. The Lakers, no doubt, are also keeping Davis in their thoughts.

If AD does become available, every general manager in the league will make a call. This summer may be the best chance Davis will ever have to get to a contender on his terms. Don’t underestimate Paul’s ability to make it happen if that’s what his client ultimately decides.

Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said before Monday’s game that AD’s big decision isn’t a distraction, and it’s not like AD’s New Orleans’ future hasn’t been a constant source of conversation over the years. Pundits, analysts, and league sources have been talking about this moment for years. There was even idle speculation that AD could have turned down the first extension for a chance at a brighter on-court future, speculation that died two seconds after the clock hit midnight on July 1 back in 2015.

Pretty much everything the Pels have done over the years has been in service to AD’s inevitable decision. Some of those moves have worked out. Holiday is a star, acquired at the expense of a lottery pick that became journeyman Nerlens Noel. Others, not so much. Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinica made a lot of money to play center when centers stopped being important.

The Pels will have to make a move at the deadline in their eternal quest for help on the wing, but it’s frankly difficult to see how this gets much better.

For now, though, Davis and the Pelicans will maintain the status quo. Since dropping four straight in late November, they’ve been on an every-other-game trajectory, going 4-4 in their last eight games.

The Pels seem to be sliding back into irrelevancy, but this is familiar territory. In their best seasons — both of them — AD and the Pelicans finished strong after a period of mid-season mediocrity. They’ll have to do it again to make a convincing final argument.

The clock is ticking, even for 25-year-old franchise players with their prime years ahead of them. It goes faster than you think. It always does.