Someone who is good at deals needs to explain this to me

Anthony Davis wants to go to L.A. eventually no matter what. So the Pelicans' options are trade him there now, trade him somewhere else now, trade him there at the end of the season, or trade him somewhere else at the end of the season.  I have no idea which of these works out the best for the Pels.  This says they probably ought to wait until the end of the season because... weird NBA rules and clauses and stuff.

A proclamation from Davis he wants to play in Los Angeles could affect his trade market, but the Pelicans have an incentive to wait until the offseason if they want to hear all offers. Davis is under contract for the 2019-'20 season with a player option in 2020-'21.

Waiting until the offseason to decide on any trade offers would allow the Boston Celtics, one of the league's most asset-rich teams, into the fray. They are currently precluded from making a trade for Davis unless it includes Kyrie Irving, due to the nature of their contracts. A trade with the Celtics could not be completed before July 1, when Irving's contract expires.

The NBA is strange and I never took the time to learn the alchemy of its salary cap and the rules governing transactions like this.  Maybe Gayle Benson will figure it out.

It's another quirk of the NBA that its teams and their stars tend not to get attached to the cities and fan bases they play for the way NFL players sometimes do.  Basketball players are permanently on tour more or less. They live everywhere and nowhere. (#NotAllBasketballPlayers, of course.  It's just, this is what the system tends to produce.)

And that's fine.  Good for Anthony Davis finally gaining some degree of control over his situation.  He's earned that, at least.  Anyway, it's a shame the Pelicans never made anything happen with one of the best players on the planet on their roster. They did have seven years to try and make it work, though.