ON A SUNDAY afternoon at the Superdome in December 2014, Rita Benson LeBlanc, the granddaughter of New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson, reportedly accosted Benson's wife, Gayle.

Within six days, Tom Benson disinherited his daughter, Renee Benson, and her two children (including Rita) and made Gayle his primary heir. There's way more to this story, of course, and it was the subject of a long and bitter legal drama. But there's a lesson: Be careful when messing with Gayle Benson.

What happens next with Anthony Davis is a huge test for the 72-year-old Benson, who became the Pelicans' owner in March 2018, when her husband of 13 years passed away. She's the NBA's newest owner, one who doesn't have a history of decisions to show a definitive track record, and she presides over an unusual management structure that relies on football executives to oversee her basketball team.

Deciding whether to honor Davis' trade request, deciding when to honor it and deciding what type of trade package the Pelicans should seek are ownership-level decisions. It's as complicated and as stressful of a moment as a sports team owner can have in this day and age. It's a time when leadership and guidance are badly needed.

"She's still learning. I would guess it's going to be a challenge for her," one NBA owner said. "I would think Adam [Silver] would offer guidance if she wanted it."

It's somewhat transparent that Davis is interested in getting to the Los Angeles Lakers, which is why his trade demand is coming now, when other expected bidders are compromised. The Boston Celtics can't really get involved because of trade rules related to Kyrie Irving. The New York Knicks' potential best offer will be murky until their draft position is known in the spring.

Anthony Davis is averaging career highs in points (29.3), rebounds (13.3) and assists (4.4) this season. Harry How/Getty Images

Davis moving now has the markings of a leverage play, especially for a player with a season and a half left on his contract. It's a strong-arm tactic, though it's being made deftly. Davis has had a process with this move, meeting with teammates to inform them of his intentions personally and having his agent formally inform the team of his intentions and wishes.

But at the end of the day, it's part of a campaign to make Benson bend toward his wishes. The NBA is watching: Will she, or won't she?

Dell Demps has been the Pelicans' general manager since 2010, when the team was known as the Hornets and was owned by George Shinn. He has seen a lot in his tenure, including the failed Chris Paul trade with the Lakers in 2011. He can negotiate trades, but ultimately, he gets his marching orders from ownership, just as he did when the Paul trade was rejected by the acting Hornets owner, commissioner David Stern. That will be the case again with Davis.

Will the Pelicans be willing to do a deal with a conference rival and create a potential superteam? Will they want to center the deal on draft picks and potentially bottom out the team, accepting losing and possible attendance declines? Will they prefer more established players to more quickly retrofit the team instead of a full rebuild?

In some form or another, these issues will land in Benson's lap.

Those familiar with the Pelicans' inner workings say Benson relies heavily on the infrastructure her late husband put in place. The Pelicans have a board of directors that make the major decisions within the franchise. They share a president, vice president, chief operating officer, chief financial officer and general counsel with the Saints, which is how Tom Benson structured the operation.

The Hoop Collective Podcast Host Brian Windhorst and guests discuss the Anthony Davis trade request, and how the Pelicans have known this was coming. Listen now! Zach Lowe, Howard Beck and Brian Windhorst take a deep dive into the Davis trade request on The Lowe Post.

Demps' direct boss within the Pelicans' management structure is Mickey Loomis, who is the highly respected and successful general manager of the Saints. Last week, as Davis was finalizing his decision to ask for a trade after seeing a hand specialist to determine the severity of a finger injury, Loomis was at the Senior Bowl in Alabama. When he spoke to the media, he addressed not Davis but the missed pass interference call in the NFC Championship Game. His is not a common position to be in.

Those who have worked with Loomis on basketball matters report that he gives the Pelicans' executives space to operate, but his experience in dealing with the challenges of pro sports shines through. He is not one to be intimidated or pushed around.

Teams who plan to negotiate with Demps and the Pelicans in the coming days have done their research on how to approach this situation. Some believe that Loomis will play a vital role in how the Pelicans manage the Davis crisis. But like Benson, Loomis has no demonstrable track record of dealing with such matters.

"We're going to invest more money and get the big players and do everything we can to keep Anthony [Davis] here," Benson said in an interview with The Athletic last month. "I really like Anthony, but if he wants to leave, you can't hold him back."

There's a lot of things left to interpretation there.

Last April, I attended the Pelicans' first playoff game in Portland, when they stunned the Blazers by 24 points on the way to a dominating first-round sweep. It was Davis' first playoff win, and he was emotional about it.

As the Pelicans players came back into the locker room, there was Benson, just a few weeks after her husband's passing, congratulating the team on the victory. Her intention, in part, was to demonstrate to the team that she was fully invested in the team and its success. It did send an impressive message.

The way she handles the Davis matter, though, might end up being a defining moment in her ownership tenure.