Morning sports update: Danny Ainge has reportedly ‘encouraged’ the Pelicans to wait on trading Anthony Davis
Also: Sports Illustrated's Patriots cover, Tom Brady's place in history, and the anniversary of a major sports corruption story.
The Patriots’ Super Bowl win is cause for another Boston parade on Tuesday. The newly-crowned champions bring a sixth Vince Lombardi trophy back to New England, with over a million fans expected to be at the celebration.
Elsewhere, the Celtics play the Cavaliers at 7 p.m., while the Bruins host the Islanders (also at 7 p.m.)
The latest report on Danny Ainge and Anthony Davis: According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has asked the Pelicans to hold off on trading Anthony Davis.
Danny Ainge has encouraged the Pelicans to wait until the offseason to negotiate with the Celtics. Boston remains determined to try and partner Anthony Davis with Kyrie Irving for long-term, but plans to pursue AD regardless of Irving’s free agency plans, per sources. https://t.co/Ft8rfe9EBZ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 5, 2019
Since the Celtics can’t make a deal for Davis (while also having Kyrie Irving on the roster) until reworking Irving’s contract in the summer, it’s imperative for Ainge to get the Pelicans to delay trading the 25-year-old superstar.
According to ESPN reports, the Lakers – who have been making a strong push to acquire Davis before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline – are “growing increasingly pessimistic” about the chances of pulling off a deal this week. Davis has reportedly made a list of teams he would sign long-term deals with, which includes the Lakers, Knicks, Clippers, and Bucks.
Yes. So far, the Lakers have felt conversations with New Orleans have been one-sided and they are growing increasingly pessimistic about the Pelicans willingness to do a deal with them. https://t.co/vbMEcLTHwY
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) February 5, 2019
More from Boston.com:
- Sports Q: What is the best team defensive performance in Patriots Super Bowl history?
- Steve Kerr on the Patriots: ‘It just gets old watching the same team win the whole thing’
- Inside the Patriots’ postgame party, where the celebration rolled past 4 a.m.
- ‘The best to ever do it’: How Bill Belichick outcoached Sean McVay in the Super Bowl
- The Celtics aren’t on the reported list of Anthony Davis’s preferred trade destinations
- Brian Flores: ‘I wasn’t in a rush to become a head coach’
- Watch Tom Brady and Julian Edelman battle with lightsabers
- What’s Rob Gronkowski’s legacy if this is truly the end?
- When Jason McCourty knew the Patriots would win the Super Bowl
Sports Illustrated’s cover
:
This week’s cover story: How the @Patriots built football’s greatest dynasty https://t.co/13rvdau6Vw pic.twitter.com/2PtJewRLKw
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 4, 2019
No debating Tom Brady’s place now: For all of the old-timers, wrote Dan Shaughnessy, there remained a lingering debate over Tom Brady’s place in Boston sports history. Was he truly the greatest? With his latest Super Bowl win, Shaughnessy admitted that debate appears to finally be over. [The Boston Globe]
Bill Belichick is about to enter a tough offseason: The Super Bowl is still fresh in fans’ minds, but Bill Belichick is already looking toward a difficult offseason. The loss of more coaches (to a division rival), plus pressing roster decisions once again requires that the Patriots’ coach work some magic. [WEEI]
Another day, another title: Boston celebrates its second major sports title in less than 100 days, with the Patriots parade coming not too far after the Red Sox. Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Gay summed up the Patriots’ latest rally cry, and how the rest of America thought of it.
“We’re Still Here, became the mantra,” wrote Gay. “Like refrigerator mold, said the rest of America.” [Wall Street Journal]
On this day: In 1979, 21 people were indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston in connection with a major scheme to fix horse races. Among those indicted were crime bosses Howard Winter and Anthony Ciulla, several jockeys, horse owners, and Las Vegas casino executives. More than a $1 million in net-profit was sought in forfeiture.
Notably, Whitey Bulger and Stephen Flemmi were named by Ciulla in his sworn testimony in a New Jersey courtroom, but neither was indicted. As authors Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill would later point out in “Black Mass,” corrupt FBI agents John Morris and John Connolly helped keep the two gangsters from getting charged.
And in 2011, the late Cheick Tioté completed a remarkable four-goal comeback by Newcastle against Arsenal with a stunning volley.
🗓️ #OnThisDay in 2011, Newcastle United came from four goals down to draw 4-4 with @Arsenal in the @premierleague. The late Cheick Tioté scored this stunning late leveller. #NUFC pic.twitter.com/zrpFu47bM2
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) February 5, 2019
Daily highlight: Rookie Marvin Bagley III pulled off a 360-spinning alley-oop dunk.
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1092649718679830528
