The New Orleans Pelicans seem to be desperately trying to avoid trading Anthony Davis to his preferred destination of the Lakers, but it would be irresponsible not to field all offers. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Thursday morning that Pelicans GM Dell Demps wasn't returning phone calls from Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, but followed up that both team executives talked later in the day, but no substantial progress was made, and they'll revisit before next week's deadline. 

As the Feb. 7 trade deadline approaches, a deal between the two teams is unlikely but not impossible. Wojnarowski's tweet on Thursday morning suggested that Demps is not in any kind of rush to try to strike a deal.

"As the NBA trade deadline looms within a week, the Lakers' immediate pursuit of All-Star forward Anthony Davis is fraught with obstacles -- including the fact that New Orleans Pelicans general manager Dell Demps has yet to return a call from Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, league sources told ESPN."

Wojnarowski's latest report, however, says that Demps isn't completely opposed to at least feeling out what the Lakers would be willing to give up.

"Lakers and Pelicans executives have connected on the phone concerning Anthony Davis, league sources tell ESPN. They're expected to talk again prior to next week's trade deadline."

It has become obvious that the Pelicans, back in action on Saturday against the Spurs (8:30 p.m. ET -- watch on fuboTV), are in no rush to find a deal involving Davis. It makes sense as Davis doesn't hit free agency until 2020, giving New Orleans a full year to negotiate with teams regarding a trade. Furthermore, the Boston Celtics won't be involved in trade discussions until the summer of 2019 due to a CBA rule that prohibits them from acquiring Davis while still having Kyrie Irving on the roster under his current contract.

What's interesting to mention here also is that Wojnarowski notes that the Pelicans might be following the San Antonio Spurs' path regarding the idea of not wanting to trade their star player to the purple and gold. The Spurs did this with Kawhi Leonard when he was being shopped around last year.

"The sluggish response time is perhaps a message that New Orleans places some responsibility on the Lakers for Davis' trade request. Or perhaps it is an indication to Davis and his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, that the Pelicans don't plan to easily acquiesce on a trade request to partner Davis with LeBron James."

"Pelicans owner Gayle Benson is enthusiastically carrying the small-market banner, pushing back on any planned superstar union of James and Davis in the NBA's glamour market."

With the idea that they're not planning to trade Davis before the deadline, it is also a possibility that they sit the five-time All-Star for the remainder of the season -- preventing the risk of Davis getting injured and driving down his trade value.

The 25-year-old big man is averaging career-highs across the board in points (29.3), rebounds (13.3), assists (4.4) and steals (1.7) per game this season.

This tactic will only benefit the Pelicans in the long run. The Lakers are obviously desperate to make an immediate move considering they're at risk of missing the postseason, and New Orleans is well aware of that.

Considering the Celtics and several other NBA clubs will be in a better position to make a trade offer for Davis over the summer, it  makes total sense for the Pelicans to sit on this rather than making an immediate move to please Davis and a team such as the Lakers.