That’s per ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
Davis’ agent Rich Paul – who also represent LeBron James – revealed on Monday that Davis wants out and handed in a trade request to New Orleans on his behalf.
The five-time All-Star – who is not eligible to become a free agent until July 2020 – has alerted the franchise he will not sign a five-year, $240million supermax contract he can be offered by the Pelicans in the summer.
That’s with just 10 days to go until the February 7 trade deadline and the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics both having been heavily linked.
The Celtics, though, cannot move for Davis until Kyrie Irving leaves or signs a new deal after July 1 because the league’s Rose Rules bars them from having two players on designated rookie extension contracts a roster at the same time.
Given Boston would want to pair Davis and Kyrie rather than send Irving to New Orleans in any trade deal, the Lakers have the temporary advantage but must coax the Pelicans into doing a deal now rather than waiting until the offseason.
But the NBA has put a spanner in the works, announcing that it has launched an investigation into the matter.
Per Wojnarowski, NBA spokesman Mike Bass said: “We commenced an investigation this morning upon reading the reports regarding Anthony Davis. That process is ongoing.”
Wojnarowski added: “One reason: an on-the-record request for a trade by an agent or a player. Davis could be fined.”
The tampering penalty would see Davis fined for having Paul request the trade, rather than himself.
That’s after the NBA reminded teams last month of its anti-tampering rule after LeBron spoke about his desire to play alongside Davis in Los Angeles.
Their memo said: “Employment contracts are to be respected and conduct that interferes with contractual employment relationships is prohibited.
“This principle is particularly important in today’s media environment, where any actions or comments relating to potential player movement receive immediate and widespread public attention.
“Teams should be entitled to focus their efforts on the competition this season with the players they have under contract, without having to divert attention or resources to conduct or speculation regarding the potential destinations of those players in future seasons once their contracts expire.”
The investigation follows a statement from New Orleans in which they addressed Davis’ desire to leave, declaring that they will decide when the 25-year-old big man departs the organisation and calling for the NBA to scrutinise the situation.
The Pelicans said on Twitter: “This past weekend, Anthony Davis’ representatives informed us that Anthony does not wish to sign a contract extension with our team and subsequently has requested a trade.
“Although we are disappointed in this decision, our organisation’s top priority is to bring an NBA championship to our city and fans and build our team for long-term success.
“Relative to specific talks of a trade, we will do this on our timeline.
“One that make sense for our team and it will not be dictated by those outside of our organisation.
“We have also requested the League to strictly enforce the tampering rules associated with this transaction.”
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported that the New York Knicks could also look to rival the Lakers for a trade deal.
He claims that the Lakers will have to give up Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and other sweeteners in order to secure a deal.