Walden: They’re not panicking in New Orleans yet, but maybe they should be

Are Pelicans fans in panic mode right now?

If they’re not, should they be?

Much of the weekly NBA discussion was dominated by a certain MVP-level player in southern California openly opining for the services of New Orleans All-Star big man Anthony Davis, and the ensuing media maelstrom that followed the public declaration of said affection.

Davis, for his part, has said and done all the right things to this point — that while he’s flattered at the praise from one of the league’s all-time greats, his focus is on trying to fix his present situation in New Orleans.

That sounds good … but is it enough? Is the Pelicans’ ability to offer Davis a supermax contract this summer enough? If the team brass finds a way to improve the supporting cast, will that be enough?

Or is it a fait accompli that Davis is gone? Was Davis’ offseason decision to be represented by an agency run by the BFF of a certain MVP-level player in southern California a sign that a team-up is already inevitable? Is the 1 2/3 seasons remaining on his contract with New Orleans irrelevant if, like Paul George and Kawhi Leonard before him, he suddenly finds his present situation untenable and decides to leverage the future threat of leaving for nothing in order to hasten his departure to parts preferred?

So, again … are Pelicans fans panicking?

On the one hand, every prominent free agent-to-be from the past five summers has been linked to this one franchise, but that certain MVP-level player is thus far the only one to make the leap. And even he couldn’t convince anyone to tag along this past summer. So are they a legitimate threat to get The Brow?

Who knows? There is a certain appeal to that area, and a certain mystique to that team, and a certain pattern of that player usually getting what he wants. Then again, none of that matters if AD decides to really stick it out with the Pellies.

Then again again, it’s hardly unthinkable to think he might view a team that was easily handled in the playoffs a year ago by the Warriors, and which presently is under .500 in spite of his best efforts, might have no clear and obvious path to significant improvement — especially if he’s monopolizing $40 million-plus of the annual salary cap.

It’s all so unknowable. That he has this much time left on his present deal and yet these rumors are already so prevalent must be maddening. Absent a sudden about-face from the status quo from Davis, the Pelicans clearly have no immediate need to act.

They will try to shore up the roster, they will try to convince him there is good reason to stay, and then they will offer him one of the largest contracts in NBA history, and he will either accept it or not.

And then they will have their answer and can proceed accordingly.

In the meantime, though, I feel Pelicans’ fans pain. Getting to that point, all amid the constant clatter of the rumor mill, will be nigh unbearable for some of them.

As usual, good ol’ Tom Petty was right — the waiting is the hardest part.