Dell Demps fired as Pelicans GM after team didn’t trade Anthony Davis
The news comes just one week after the Pelicans rejected offers from the Lakers.
A week after Pelicans general manager Dell Demps took the NBA’s spotlight amidst Anthony Davis’ trade request, he has parted ways with the team, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The team is discussing replacements in the interim, per Wojnarowski, including David Booth and Danny Ferry.
According to Woj, ownership was upset with Davis leaving the arena before the team’s game against the Thunder ended on Thursday night after he was ruled out following a shoulder injury. “Gayle Benson [the team’s owner] is telling associates she wants an overhaul of Pelicans and a search for a GM to take command of Davis trade talks and the reshaping of team’s future,” Woj said.
The Davis trade request drama is reaching a new low.
What happened with Davis leaving early?
This part is a bit unclear. Davis suffered an injury in the second quarter of the Pelicans win over the Thunder and was ruled out for the night. Then he left the game with his agent, Rich Paul.
Anthony Davis's shoulder injury and video of him leaving the arena from TNT pic.twitter.com/krlMKTr1dt
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) February 15, 2019
What’s unclear is if Davis left in anger, or to go and directly get an MRI. (Davis was eventually ruled with a shoulder contusion.)
After the game, Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry refused to feed into the drama.
“I’m going to talk about the guys who played the game,” Gentry said before walking off. “They did a great job. We found a way to win the game. That’s what’s important.”
Alvin Gentry mentioned Anthony Davis left the building after injuring his shoulder. Asked if that bothered him, he said: “I’m going to talk about the guys who played the game. They did a great job. We found a way to win the game. That’s what’s important.” pic.twitter.com/pvvQCOq6QW
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) February 15, 2019
How did we get here?
When the Pelicans refused to negotiate with the Lakers on a trade deal, they instead opted to take the risk of a months-long drama with Davis to get a chance at a better offer. This was always going to get messy.
Davis said he wanted to continue playing if he wasn’t traded, even though that isn’t in his team’s best interest. Should Davis get seriously hurt, that could ruin the team’s possible return in a trade. But if they sat Davis, New Orleans ran the threat of receiving fines and other penalties from the league for benching a healthy superstar.