{"id":706592,"date":"2026-04-09T12:39:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T12:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/706592\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T12:39:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T12:39:21","slug":"anthony-davis-address-new-orleans-bad-breakup-for-1st-time-pelicans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/706592\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Davis address New Orleans ‘bad breakup’ for 1st time | Pelicans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington Wizards forward Anthony Davis<\/a> recently went on \u201cThe Draymond Green Show<\/a>\u201d and said the door is \u201cclosed\u201d in terms of a possible return to the New Orleans Pelicans.<\/p>\n

In the one-hour, 40-minute podcast episode published on Wednesday, Davis gave Green his unfiltered side of an ugly breakup between him and the team that selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. It\u2019s the first time he said he\u2019s done so publicly.<\/p>\n

Davis told Green he wanted to move on from New Orleans and compete for an NBA championship, and his breaking point in the Crescent City was when he wasn\u2019t named an NBA All-Star starter one season when he knew he had earned the honor but didn\u2019t receive it because of the team\u2019s lack of success.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, when you first come in the league, it\u2019s like, \u2018Hey, look. I\u2019m getting my money. I just want to get my bread. I just want to get paid,\u2019\u201d Davis said. \u201cAnd then, at some point, it switches like, \u2018Alright. I\u2019m trying to win.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The trade request<\/p>\n

He said after two playoff appearances with the Pelicans, he tried to privately make a trade request with then-general manager Dell Demps.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just wasn\u2019t getting done,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

So, the request became public.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when I did the media interview after practice and told them, \u2018I want to be traded,\u2019\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

The news of Davis\u2019 request came out on Jan. 28, 2019. On Feb. 15, the Pelicans fired Demps.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, I was already the villain,\u201d Davis said, \u201cbut now I\u2019m the problem? The GM gets fired [like] a week later after I ask for a trade, but I\u2019m the problem?\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis said the organization told him they could not find the right deal for him. He continued to play, but the Pelicans began benching him. Interim general manager Danny Ferry told Davis he was going to play 18-20 minutes a game.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a basketball player, if someone tells you you\u2019re going to play 15 minutes, you\u2019re bound to get hurt,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

The University of Kentucky one-and-done star sat for the final seven games of the season due to back spasms.<\/p>\n

Davis mentioned how he got fined $50,000 for making a public trade request.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a team is tired of a player, they can trade him with no consequence,\u201d Davis said. \u201cRight? But once a player is like, \u2018I want to do what\u2019s best for me, because I want to compete for championships and win.\u2019 It\u2019s not even about the money. New Orleans offered me a crazy deal at the time. It\u2019s not even about the money; I genuinely want to win. So now, because I want to win, I\u2019m considered a villain to this team and to this fanbase. To this day, I still go back, and they still boo me.\u201d<\/p>\n

No video tribute<\/p>\n

Green, who has already publicly scolded the Pelicans\u2019 home atmosphere<\/a> in the Smoothie King Center earlier this season, then injected his opinion.<\/p>\n

\u201cYup,\u201d Green said. \u201cThat\u2019s why they\u2019re still losing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t boo the best player in your franchise\u2019s history,\u201d Green said. \u201cYou appreciate him.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Davis told Green he never got a video tribute when he returned to the Smoothie King Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told Ms. [Pelicans owner Gayle] Benson, when I was going to her right before the deadline to ask for a trade, I told her, \u2018Ms. B, I want to get out of here, these are the reasons,\u2019\u201d Davis said. \u201cMs. B was cool. Ms. B and I are still cool to this day. And I told her, \u2018This might not be the end, though. Later on in my career, who knows if I were to come back, and we try to do something special as I\u2019m older, mature, game developed, win a couple of championships, I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

\u201cI left that door open. And when I went back that first game and got no tribute, I said, \u2018Oh, that door is closed.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s All Folks<\/p>\n

Davis then addressed his viral \u201cThat\u2019s All Folks\u201d T-shirt he wore on the sideline at his last home game as a Pelican.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose last three months, two months of the season were rough. It was rough. Obviously, I wore the shirt. I wore the shirt and all \u2014 like, I get it,\u201d Davis said, referring to the boos he receives in New Orleans now.<\/p>\n

Many fans have also expressed how they didn\u2019t like how Davis never thanked the city on social media after being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. The lack of public gratitude to Pelicans fans was not addressed in the interview.<\/p>\n

Pelicans fans, breathe easy. Anthony Davis
\nwill leave something special just for you as he exits: “I will
\nalways have love for the city of NO. When that time comes I am
\ngoing to definitely have a heartwarming message for them and put it
\nout on Instagram like everybody else does.”<\/p>\n

\u2014 Sean Deveney (@SeanDeveney)
\nFebruary 16, 2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, [New Orleans] had a storm, I saw the video of where they had the hurricane, and everybody cleared out the grocery store, and it was just like my Ruffles that were still there. The only ones in there. I\u2019ve seen all of that, but it\u2019s like none of that ever bothered me. I get it, it was a bad breakup … for the fans, I get it. Your best player\u2019s leaving. Nobody wants that.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then, at the time when I was there, [the fans were saying], \u2018We can\u2019t get AD any help! Who are these guys we are signing?\u2019\u201d He said. \u201cYou can\u2019t have your cake and eat it, too. You can\u2019t say, \u2018We\u2019re not getting him help,\u2019 and then get mad when he\u2019s leaving because he decides to leave because he wants to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Returning to boos<\/p>\n

Davis said that returning to New Orleans for the first time was emotional for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing back, I was just here for seven years, and I come out, and I hear \u2018BOOOO,\u2019\u201d Davis said. \u201cI\u2019m talking about loud, all boos. So I\u2019m sitting on the bench, and I\u2019m looking up. They\u2019re calling the starting lineups, and they\u2019re like \u2018Anthony Davis,\u2019 and I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh s\u2014\u2014. Ain\u2019t nothing on the screen …\u2019 There wasn\u2019t even a graphic that said, \u2018Thank you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis said it hurt him.<\/p>\n

\u201cY\u2019all taking the last two months and making it seem like it was the entire seven years,\u201d he said. \u201cThen, you had all the announcers and reporters saying, \u2018Oh, they rolled out the red carpet for AD.\u2019 No, they did not. They didn\u2019t do anything. They tried to offer me the max contract, but at that point, I was like, \u2018It\u2019s not about the money. I\u2019m trying to win.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

2019 NBA Draft<\/p>\n

Even after his trade request, Davis said he met with new Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin. He asked for one major thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you can get Ja Morant at 1, then we have a real conversation going on because I know how it\u2019s going to help our team with Jrue [Holiday].\u201d<\/p>\n

Griffin then told Davis no, he had to take Zion Williamson, who plays the same position as Davis.<\/p>\n

\u2018New Orleans was me\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI always wanted to be the guy that sticks with a franchise for their entire career,\u201d he said. \u201cThis last year [being traded twice] like this s\u2014- is crazy, but I always thought I was going to finish in New Orleans. Start in New Orleans, finish in New Orleans and never go anywhere. When we just didn\u2019t align on our goals as far as winning, it just took a bad turn.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we had to do some things, like be loud in the media. I had to go out and be a villain, and Rich [Paul] had to say what he had to say in order for [the trade] to get done. I think, now, people are starting to see and understand a little bit, but they didn\u2019t see it at the time, which was seven years ago. So, I mean, it is what it is …<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough because I met all my friends, to this day, from New Orleans. My chef, my stylist, everybody I knew was only in New Orleans, bro. Like, New Orleans was me … it\u2019s all I knew from 19 to 26.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n