Per a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are in trade discussions for New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis. However, due to the NBA’s Designated Rookie Extension Rule, the Celtics are prohibited from completing a trade for Davis until after July 1.
Hoops Rumors’ Luke Adams clarifies the rule a bit more:
An NBA team is permitted to have up to two designated rookies on its roster at a time. However, only one of those two designated rookies can be acquired via trade. This is why the Celtics can’t acquire Anthony Davis during the 2018/19 season.
Boston acquired point guard Kyrie Irving from the Cleveland Cavaliers two years ago. The Cavs signed Irving to an extension in 2014.
With the restrictions on trading for Davis before July 1 in mind, the Celtics and Pelicans can still verbally agree to a Davis trade before that date. The trade just will not be official until after July 1 and if the deal includes draft picks in the 2019 NBA Draft, then there’s an understanding that those picks made by Boston would be on the behalf of New Orleans.
With trade discussions with multiple teams for Davis in full swing, and with the NBA Draft coming up in just a week, it will be interesting to see how everything unfolds between the Celtics and Pelicans.
