Jrue Holiday hopes Pelicans fans show 'respect' to Lakers' Anthony Davis during his return

Mark Medina | USA TODAY

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NEW ORLEANS - Before the Pelicans play one of their most hyped games of the season, one player outlined his wish for how he hopes fans will react Wednesday during Anthony Davis’ first visit since the team accommodated his trade request.

“Hopefully they just respect him,” Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday said of the Lakers forward after Tuesday’s practice. “Just respect him. He’s done a lot for this city and a lot for this organization. He’s done a lot since he’s been here. So just respect him.”

That might be wishful thinking. Davis predicted “there are probably going to be boos” for obvious reasons.

Davis’ agent, Rich Paul, publicly demanded the Pelicans trade Davis last January amid frustration with the front office’s direction. Before and after the Lakers’ unsuccessful efforts to acquire him before the trade deadline in February, Davis sat in a combined 12 games partly to prevent injury.

At the Pelicans’ regular-season home finale, Davis even wore a T-shirt that quoted the Looney Toons’ sign-off: "That’s all folks." Shortly after they replaced Dell Demps with David Griffin in the front office, the Pelicans dealt Davis to the Lakers for Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and three draft picks.

Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry didn't outline his expectations for fans' reactions during lineup introductions, a possible tribute video or when Davis has the ball.

“That's for the fans to determine,” Gentry said. “They pay their money, they buy their tickets, and it's their prerogative to do whatever they feel they need to do.”

Yet, Gentry stressed that the Pelicans do not hold a grudge against Davis over his departure.

“If you asked every guy on our team, they'll tell you that they like AD and he's a good guy,” he said.

Holiday said he and Davis still trained together this past summer and playfully talked trash anytime the Lakers added another player to their roster. Holiday said it’s “actually pretty easy” to maintain a friendship and talk about things besides basketball.

So even if Gentry admitted in a recent interview with USA TODAY Sports that he believes the situation could have been handled better, he also stressed that Davis had every right to demand a trade after experiencing two quick playoff exits and five missed postseason appearances.

The Lakers (15-2) enter Wednesday’s game with the NBA’s best record mostly because of LeBron James (25.6 points, 11 assists, 7.4 assists) and Davis (25.1 points, 9.0 rebounds).

"He's not the first person to have ever done it. He won't be the last," Gentry said. "It's just part of what the NBA is."

Meanwhile the Pelicans (6-11) have missed a combined 63 games because of injuries, most notably to rookie Zion Williamson (right knee), who has missed 16 games. Ball also might miss Wednesday’s game after being excused from Tuesday’s practice because of a stomach bug.

Nevertheless, the Lakers-Pelicans matchup could be riveting. Does Davis perform highlight reels at his former team’s expense or does he feel overwhelmed with his return? Will Ingram and Hart have breakout performances against the Lakers or will they still show some youthful learning curves? And how will the crowd react?

“I expect them to be loud. I expect them to be behind us, as they’ve been all season,” Hart said. “Obviously I think the city might have some extra energy towards it, but hopefully that’s not just a one-game thing.”

Regardless, the Pelicans hope that loudness does not turn into angry hostility.

“I don’t know if they’re going to boo him or they’re going to clap,” Ingram said of Davis. “But he’s another great player we have to game plan for when he comes in the building. So it’ll be a really, really good game.”

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