By: Ryan Stein
It took 6.5 seasons, but New Orleans Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis has finally requested a trade. After years of the Pelicans underachieving, largely due to an underwhelming supporting cast, Davis decided enough was enough. He joins Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Jimmy Butler as stars who sought to leave their teams prior to their contract ending.
Considering the consistently poor roster decisions of late by the Pelicans' front office, namely letting Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins leave for nothing this past summer, it's hard to blame Davis for losing his patience. Sitting at 22-28 so far this season, the Pelicans are firmly outside the Western Conference playoff picture with no help in sight.
As far as teams that could potentially trade for the top-5 player, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics are two teams that have been consistently discussed. Davis requesting a trade during the season is significantly better for the Lakers, since the Celtics can't trade for Davis while point guard Kyrie Irving is on his current contract (thanks to the Rose Rule.)
A trade for Davis would cost a haul of assets for the team that acquires his services. It's unclear what the Pelicans would be searching for in a trade at this point, but considering their current record and roster, a full rebuild may be in their future. As such, young potential players and draft picks should be their goal. Do not count out the Los Angeles Clippers and the New York Knicks, two big market teams with the assets to make a deal happen.
It is time to throw away the American inferiority complex with its place in the sport, where many blindly claim that technique should come above all in choosing and developing the best prospects and that the U.S. is not an international power because it cares too much about athleticism.
Following last year's list of nine underground teams to watch, I bring the list back with eight new teams you need to follow. From entertaining amateur players to professional coaches revolutionizing the sport from behind the scenes, here are eight underground soccer teams to watch this season.
The Premier League is here and with that comes an uncountable number of variables and uncertainty from which teams will stay up to which teams will secure a Champions League spot. Here is a prediction of the premier league table from 20th to 1st.
