Anthony Davis will stay put in New Orleans this season after weeks of trade talks. Since it's public that Davis wants out, his agent Rich Paul expressed concern that the Pelicans wouldn't want to play the power forward in a suspected attempt to improve draft positions and maintain Davis' future trade value. ESPN reports that the NBA threatened to fine the Pelicans $100,000 for every game Davis is benched after hearing about this possibility.
The league cited the rule placed back in 2017 restricting teams from benching perfectly healthy players. The rule was put in place after the San Antonio Spurs kept benching their star players to rest. Of course, Davis played on Friday night during the Pelicans' win against the Timberwolves.
Davis himself got hit with a $50,000 fine last month because of Paul's public trade demand. The Los Angeles Lakers did put forth several trade packages in hopes of obtaining Anthony Davis, but the offers fell through by the time the trade deadline came.
