Report: Pelicans, Hawks had exploratory talks about Howard trade

In a perfect world, All-Star big man and franchise player Anthony Davis wouldn't be stuck playing over two-thirds of his minutes as a center when his true position is power forward. Two of the worst offensive players on the New Orleans Pelicans (Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca) are traditional centers, leaving head coach Alvin Gentry no choice but to have Davis soak up minutes at the five-spot.

To fix that problem, Pelicans management held exploratory trade talks with the Atlanta Hawks about Dwight Howard's availability in the days following their Jan. 5 game, sources told ESPN's Zach Lowe.

Davis was whistled for two early fouls that night trying to defend Howard, and with the team already worried about how he'd fare having to guard players of that stature in the paint for an entire season, New Orleans began putting more of an emphasis on trying to acquire the help he'd need.

It's unclear how interested the Pelicans were in going all-in for Howard, according to Lowe, and the team wasn't unified in its approval of potentially acquiring him.

Atlanta reportedly later yanked all of its key players, including forward Paul Millsap, off of the trade market, as the Hawks intend to compete in the Eastern Conference and make as deep a run as possible in the playoffs.

Howard is currently working under the first year of a three-year, $70-million contract he inked with the Hawks last offseason, averaging a double-double of 13.9 points and 13.3 rebounds on 64 percent shooting through his first 36 appearances.