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Davis remains loyal to Pelicans: 'I don't plan on leaving'

USA Today Sports

The question of how good the New Orleans Pelicans can be with a full arsenal at their disposal has never been truly answered, as injuries have continuously plagued the roster for much of All-Star Anthony Davis' tenure.

It would be enough to make anyone consider finding greener pastures elsewhere, but not Davis, who remains fiercely committed to turning the Pelicans around and re-entering the playoff picture.

"I don't plan on leaving, so make sure you write that down," Davis said during an international conference call on Tuesday, according to NOLA.com's Jeff Duncan.

New Orleans has won two of its last three games following a 110-108 road victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night, improving to 22-34 on the season. That's good for the 12th seed in the Western Conference, four-and-a-half games behind the Denver Nuggets for the final playoff spot.

"We've got to find a way to keep fighting," Davis added. "We have a team that is able to compete for the playoffs. We showed that a couple of times this year (in January wins against the Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs). We feel we are just as good as any other team in this league. We just need to find a way to stay a little more healthy and be a little more consistent.

"I like our team we have now. We always are just kind of injured. It's tough to win games when a lot of the top guys are out."

On the off chance Davis does demand a trade out of town, the five-year, $145-million extension he signed in 2015 would make it incredibly difficult to pull off. He's locked in through the 2019-20 campaign, with a player option of $28.75 million in 2020-21.

Rookie Buddy Hield is the only Pelicans player to have suited up for all 56 games this season. Davis has missed four contests, point guard Jrue Holiday missed a good chunk at the start of the season while tending to his pregnant and ailing wife, and former Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans' ailing knee has sidelined him for all but 25 appearances.

Davis currently ranks fifth in the Association in scoring (27.9 points per game), sixth in rebounding (12), and is tied for first in blocks (2.48) with Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert.

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