With bags under his eyes, a sheepish Anthony Davis steps in front of the gathered media throng at the Pelicans practice facility for perhaps the last time. It is the end of an era. His era, the one that began when Davis was drafted seven years ago.
Standing in the smoldering embers of chaos that he reaped, Davis is ready to leave this behind. To find for himself a better basketball future, or so he's been advised. He's ready to answer questions one more time.
It's been less than three months since Davis first requested a trade out of New Orleans. The ensuing havoc played out like the worst of reality television, the ones where everybody hates the protagonist.
"It's been pretty crazy. It got pretty wild," Davis says through a sly grin.
There was the Machiavellian tactics of Davis' agent, Rich Paul, and Klutch Sports. Ditto for LeBron James and many in Los Angeles. The Pelicans went into open revolt against the NBA over Davis' playing time, or lack thereof. Tampering rules were flaunted, and broke. Fans obsessed over middle fingers and t-shirts. The disorder even left an NBA legend in shambles.
None of this was normal. Much of it was brought on by Davis himself, who either acted on bad advice or miscalculated his leverage over the Pelicans.
Some of those answers will come, others never will. Surprisingly, there's one thing that Davis doesn't have the day after his season has mercifully ended: regrets.
"No," he states simply when asked. No regrets. An interesting position to take moments after saying there's always something to learn. But lessons and regrets aren't equal, and it's unsurprising that Davis wouldn't regret wanting out of New Orleans after all of this.
The 26 year-old superstar has been forced into on-court irrelevance since his trade request. The Pelicans, acting in their best interests, first refused to play him at all then relented to pressure from the league offices and the Players Association and put him on the court only the necessary amount to avoid fines or draft penalties.
"That was definitely the toughest part. Obviously I want to play the game of basketball. Having to adjust to playing 20, 21 minutes was something new for me."
Davis is showing a rare moment of honest vulnerability. He might be getting paid and absurd amount of money, and he certainly didn't deserve any playing time favors from the team he told he no longer wanted to play for, but he's still just a guy who wants to be on the court doing what he loves.
"Anytime you take something away from a player it's always tough to handle."
Thankfully there will be no more playing time debates. This season has ended, and the next step for the Pelicans is to hire a GM who can skillfully execute one of the biggest trades in NBA history. Davis is now playing the waiting game himself.
"Seeing what happens. Seeing who the Pelicans make the GM and having a conversation about that person about the future," he says of his next steps in this process. "My time here has always been great. I love playing here. It's something that I will definitely hold in my heart forever. But the next step is waiting on the Pelicans to make a decision on that GM job."
It's been a foregone conclusion for months that Davis will leave for Los Angeles, New York, Boston, or some other larger market. He said last year that he only cares about his legacy and championships. When his preferred destinations include the moribund Knicks or disintegrating Lakers it seems more like greater city population is the priority, not greater win totals. Perhaps there's even a chance the Pelicans can't find a worthy trade partner and bring Davis back for another full season of this mess. That seems unfathomable, but stranger things have happened.
"Obviously my time here was amazing. Love the fans and the city. The fans obviously supported me. I never had any problem with the fans, except for a couple days ago," Davis chuckled, referencing his middle-finger dispute with a fan at the Smoothie King Center last week. "Other than that, it was an amazing time here. Loved playing here. Always have a special place in my heart. You never know what might happen later in your career."
Davis walks away from the press conference and back towards the locker room. Soon, he'll walk away from New Orleans and towards what he believes is a better future.