Anthony Davis to miss rest of season with knee, shoulder woes
New Orleans’ snakebitten season now will have an appropriate ending. On Sunday the team announced that star big man Anthony Davis will miss the rest of the regular season as he deals with nagging knee and shoulder injuries. Coach Alvin Gentry revealed the sad news.
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Davis banged knees with Portland guard C.J. McCollum on Friday and did not practice on Saturday. Gentry warned after that practice that his All-Star could be a candidate to sit out his last 14 games, but most sloughed off the idea as a stat-padding finish to the season would possibly result in a significant contract bonus boost for AD. More on that later.
From John Reid at the New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Gentry revealed that Davis had been dealing with a shoulder injury for the entire season, and he has an issue with his left knee that’s going to need correction. Gentry didn’t specify, but it appears Davis could require surgery on both his shoulder and knee.
The Pelicans entered 2015-16 as a postseason hopeful following the team’s run to the playoffs last season – they eked into the West’s eighth seed due to a tie-breaking scenario over Oklahoma City, with Davis literally shooting his team into that regular season advantage. Davis, coming off of a season where he led the NBA in total blocks and Player Efficiency Rating, was considered a dark horse MVP candidate.
A litany of injuries hamstrung New Orleans’ chances, however, in Alvin Gentry’s first year as coach. A rough early season schedule added to the derailment, as the Pelicans started 2015-16 by losing 11 of its first 12 games. Regular season disappointments from other Western playoff contenders made it so even that disastrous of a start wouldn’t preclude them from making yet another playoff run, but entering Sunday the team was stuck at 25-43 – the league’s sixth-worst record.
Ironically, guard Jrue Holiday (who started the season on a minutes restriction after a series of stress fractures in his leg), is the only Pelican regular working in full health at this point.
In most other scenarios, shutting down the franchise player would seem to be a boon for a team’s lottery odds. The Pelicans are a full 3.5 games “behind” the fifth-worst Minnesota Timberwolves, however, and while dropping a player averaging over 24 points, 10 rebound and two blocks from an already-limping lineup would seem to guarantee a series of losses, absolutely nothing is certain with laughingstocks like the Wolves, Lakers, Nets, Suns and 76ers trampling underfoot.
Then there is the case of Davis’ contract, which makes the move to shelve him somewhat unsettling.
As CBS’ James Herbert reminded us all when news of Anthony’s absence from practice hit, Davis stands to make a rather significant bonus if he makes one of the three All-NBA teams. Negotiated in 2011 to prevent both rookie deals and maxed-out post-rookie deal contract extensions a little less bargain-y for teams, “the Rose Rule” (named after Derrick Rose, who won an MVP on a rookie contract prior to his extension) ramps a player’s contract terms.
Anthony Davis was the first of his draft class to immediately sign his extension with the then-ascending Pelicans last July, and it will kick in starting in 2016-17. If he’s voted into an All-NBA team, that extension will shoot up some $24 million.
Davis, at times, acts as the NBA’s best player and he certainly remains one of its best big men. However, voters might pass on giving an All-NBA designation to a player that will finish 2015-16 having missed 21 of 82 games, working on a team that is currently ranked 25th in defensive efficiency.
It’s true that the heaps of games lost to injury from his teammates created an atmosphere that didn’t allow for back to back postseason trips for NOLA, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t significant questions surrounding Davis’ candidacy. Especially with a return to form for Paul George, yet another breakout season for Draymond Green, fully-healthy years from LaMarcus Aldridge, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant, and the sustained brilliance of types like LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul Millsap.
That is to say, even for one of the league’s brightest talents, it will be a crowded field. And we certainly hope that Anthony Davis is a willing partner in this shutdown, that this is a mutual decision, and that the Pelicans aren’t eyeing the eventual bottom line. For now, that’s just speculation.
Frustrations abound from stem to stern with this franchise. Anthony Davis only just turned 23, but everyone involved has to be getting a little impatient.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops
