The most pertinent framing of Anthony Davis’s request to be traded from the Pelicans is not why it happened, but when. Trade demands are a fact of NBA life, a time-honored tradition practically as old as the league itself. Wilt Chamberlain. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Hakeem Olajuwon. Shaquille O’Neal. There is a lineage of players (and, apparently, all-time great centers) who publicly attempted to force their way from one team to another. None of them caused anywhere near the level of commotion that Davis and his representatives did this month. The request itself was straightforward and, if anything, less incendiary than previous versions.
Trade Demands Didn’t Start With Anthony Davis, But They’ve Never Been Bigger
