NBA Legend Tells Anthony Davis to Ditch Pelicans to Join LeBron James on Lakers

After 12 seasons in the NBA toiling for the Timberwolves in Minnesota with only a handful of playoff appearances to show for his efforts, Kevin Garnett decided to waive his no-trade clause so he could head east and join the Celtics.

Garnett, who was past 30 when he made his decision and had already played most of his best basketball, is advising Anthony Davis to not wait that long and leave the struggling New Orleans Pelicans while he is at the peak of his basketball powers.

Except Garnett wants Davis to go the other direction: west.

Thanks to the presence of LeBron James in Los Angeles, Garnett views the Lakers as the best possible landing spot for the budding NBA superstar.

“Anthony Davis playing in New Orleans, I don’t want to say they are wasted days, but they are non-days,” Garnett told USA TODAY. “He needs to be somewhere where he can be with another guy and they can have a run at a championship. He has been in New Orleans long enough. It is time for a change now. This is it. No better time to do this. That’s why he needs to go to a team where he has a chance to hoist the trophy or at least have a chance at going in that direction. He doesn’t have that. Great players need to be with other great players. He is still ‘the guy’ when LeBron is there. They are both ‘the guy.’ That’s why you bring your superpowers together.”

New Orleans has maintained that they will not trade Davis, but if he informs the team he will be leaving as a free agent, they may not have a choice. The Pelicans losing one of the NBA’s top stars for nothing would be worse than trading him, even for pennies on the dollar.

If the trade — which Garnett said “is in the works” — does happen, the Lakers could have a legit shot of challenging Golden State, according to the 15-time All-Star.

“Absolutely they can challenge Golden State,” Garnett said. “You can’t leave Davis open. He is not just a one-way player – he can cover the basket, he can guard you, he can stay with you, he is long enough to make you take tough shots, he can block shots, he is going to dictate the game in so many ways it is going to be ridiculous. Then LeBron will be doing everything he does. How do you stop it? Everything is there for Anthony Davis. If he goes to L.A., he can have a six- or seven-year run that would be amazing. This is his time. It has to happen.”