Anthony Davis, now firmly in the fold with the purple and gold, is keeping sour grapes at arm’s length.
The Los Angeles Lakers‘ superstar addition says he isn’t affected by comments the general manager of his former team made that appeared to be critical of the forward’s exit from New Orleans.
“That’s fine. I don’t care,” Davis said Friday in an appearance on ESPN’s The Jump during Lakers media day. “I mean like, the past is the past, you know? I didn’t hear that. But look, I love the city of New Orleans. I’ve been there seven years, gave my all — six and a half — gave my all. And it was fun times, you know. It was fun times.”
David Griffin, the Pelicans’ executive vice president and GM, said in a promotional event earlier this week that New Orleans was a unique city for which some NBA players aren’t suited.
“Not everyone’s made to be a part of this, and that’s OK. We’re comfortable with that,” Griffin said. “If sex appeal is your thing and you need a big market, OK. See you later. If doing something meaningful for people who care about supporting their teams every day is important, this is something you’re going to want to be a part of.”
The Lakers traded Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and a bevy of draft picks and pick-swap considerations to New Orleans for Davis.
While the expectations have clearly changed for the Lakers, they are preaching a one-day-at-a-time mentality. But the addition of the former No. 1 pick and six-time All-Star in Davis, acquired in a trade with the Pelicans in July, trumpets a potential pivot to prominence.
For their part, the Pelicans acquired a major building block in Zion Williamson with the overall No. 1 pick in this year’s draft after adding Griffin, the architect of the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ 2016 championship team, in April.
But Davis said he isn’t looking back.
“Now I’m in a new chapter in my career,” Davis told The Jump. “And you know, look forward to doing something special here.”