David Griffin met for breakfast with Anthony Davis on Wednesday to discuss the future of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Griffin laid out his vision for the franchise to Davis. Griffin and Davis will continue a dialogue in the near future.

Davis can become a free agent next offseason and has requested a trade from the Pelicans. Davis is eligible to sign a five-year, $239 million supermax contract extension.

Griffin has yet to engage any teams on trade talks. The Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics and New York Knicks are prepared to discuss a Davis trade with the Pelicans.

Adam Silver has "tremendous" confidence in Jeanie Buss to get the Los Angeles Lakers out from their current predicament struggling to maintain a stable front office.

Magic Johnson stepped down as president at the end of the regular season and the Lakers are currently run by Rob Pelinka.

"I know Jeanie knows how to manage a team," Silver said Wednesday morning in a wide-ranging interview on ESPN's Get Up. "Sure, when things start to go wrong, a lot of fingers get pointed. But they'll figure it out."

A report in December of 2015 suggested Silver received pressure from NBA owners to intervene during the tenure of Sam Hinkie with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Silver also confirmed a report from ESPN's Baxter Holmes that Rich Paul mentioned the possibility of the Lakers firing Luke Walton to him.

"He was in the same restaurant," Silver said. "There were two people sitting there. He sat down for a second, and I think he said something along the lines that 'Luke Walton is not the right guy to coach LeBron.'

"My reaction was to shrug my shoulders and maybe say, 'Well, who do you think is the right guy to coach?' And he mentioned a name and that was that. I think as commissioner, I don't want to shut people off who have a point of view."

Kyrie Irving has been linked with the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks throughout the season, but there has been more speculation of late that he will also consider the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers.

Irving has reportedly been recruited by Kobe Bryant to the Lakers. Bryant's former agent, Rob Pelinka, currently runs the Lakers.

"It's between Brooklyn and the Lakers," said Ric Bucher. "I was told in the last 24 hours Kobe has been recruiting Kyrie in particular, to get him to the Lakers. Everything I've heard I would still expect Kyrie is going to go to Brooklyn... He just bought a place in South Orange."

"It's between Brooklyn and the Lakers... I was told in the last 24 hours Kobe has been recruiting Kyrie in particular, to get him to the Lakers. Everything I've heard I would still expect Kyrie is going to go to Brooklyn... He just bought a place in South Orange." — @RicBucher pic.twitter.com/HICrTPushl

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) May 28, 2019

The Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans have pursued Tyronn Lue for a lead assistant role, but he remains focused on a return to the NBA in a head coaching role.

Lue was fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers in October of last year.

Lue was offered the Los Angeles Lakers' coaching job, but was unable to agree to contract terms.

The Rockets are working to add to their staff following the departures of assistant coaches Jeff Bzdelik, Mitch Vanya and Roy Rogers, player development assistant Irv Roland and video coordinator John Cho. 

The Rockets offered Lue an assistant coaching job soon after he was fired in October.

Lue has history working with New Orleans head coach Alvin Gentry and executive Vice President David Griffin. 

The influence of Linda Rambis within the Los Angeles Lakers'  franchise has received more attention in recent months following the departure of Magic Johnson.

Linda Rambis is the wife of Kurt Rambis and she is considered the closest friend and confidant of Jeanie Buss.

One front-office staffer said Linda Rambis enjoys the "shadow owner" of the Lakers' moniker, noting: "She loves it," and that "she controls and manipulates Jeanie."  

Linda Rambis is also an ardent support and ally of Rob Pelinka for reasons some staffers don't fully understand.

"Nobody gets it," one coaching staff member said.

Rob Pelinka has credibility issues, according to current and former staffers of the Los Angeles Lakers.

"We think, more often than not, he's not being truthful," a coaching staff member said. "That goes throughout the organization."

Pelinka once related a story about Kobe Bryant meeting Heath Ledger after watching "The Dark Knight."

"There was one time when Kobe, who I worked with for 18 years, was going back to play in Madison Square Garden, and he had just seen 'The Dark Knight,'" Pelinka said. "Obviously, you guys saw that movie, and he's like, 'Hey, hook me up with dinner with Heath Ledger, because he got so locked into that role. I want to know how he mentally went there.' So, he had dinner with Heath, and he talked about how he locks in for a role.

"And Kobe used some of that in his game against the Knicks."

The film was released in July 2008, six months after Ledger passed away. According to a source with direct knowledge, no such arrangement was made and no dinner took place.

Pelinka is frequently quick to say that agents or players are responsible for certain decisions, such as when the Lakers selected Mo Wagner at No. 25 last year instead of Omari Spellman, who was the highest ranked remaining player on their board.

Last November, Adam Silver had lunch with Maverick Carter but was approached at one point by Rich Paul, who also happened to be at the restaurant seated at a nearby table.

Paul complained to Silver about Luke Walton, believing he wasn't the right coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Silver shrugged off the comment and asked Paul who he thought would be the right coach. Paul suggested Tyronn Lue.

Paul also reportedly let it be known through conversations with reporters and others that he wasn't supportive of Walton.

Members of the Lakers' coaching staff became aware of those conversations and wondered whether Magic Johnson's heated meeting with Walton was influenced by Paul.

"Coaches know Rich is trying to get them fired, and players know Rich is trying to get them traded," said one agent with ties to the Lakers.

Magic Johnson addressed the Los Angeles Lakers' basketball operations staff shortly after he was hired as president.

Johnson expressed excitement about turning around the Lakers, but he also made it clear he didn't accept excuses or mistakes. Johnson indicated that anyone who wasn't on board with his regime and mission should leave.

Johnson pointed toward his office and said he had "a thousand" resumes sitting on his desk and he could replace any of them at any time.

"It was shocking," said one Lakers coaching staff member who was present. "If you're going to be in this business, you bring enough pressure on yourself. You don't need more pressure, especially from someone who's supposed to be an ally."

The initial meeting set the tone for how Johnson would operate throughout his tenure.

"If you questioned him on anything, his response was always a threatening tone," said a Lakers front office staffer who interacted with Johnson directly. "He used intimidation and bullying as a way of showing authority."

A Lakers spokesperson said Johnson wasn't reprimanded for unprofessional workplace behavior and that no official complaints were filed. 

"He comes off to the fan base with the big love and the smile," said one ex-Lakers athletic training official who interacted directly with Johnson. "But he's not -- he's a fear monger."

At least two staffers suffered panic attacks.

As one ex-Lakers star privately told confidants, "It's f----ng crazy over there."

Kawhi Leonard has reached the NBA Finals in his first season with the Toronto Raptors following his trade from the San Antonio Spurs.

Leonard's uncle, Dennis Robertson, spoke with Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports about the historical moment of reaching the Finals with the Raptors.

“We’re a humble family and we’re just enjoying the moment,” Robertson said. “Most people would say it’s vindication, but I’m not sure about that. But it was nice that we kept our mouths shut and just let everything play out. And for Kawhi, to take all the negative press he received and to focus on taking the East and to taking each series game by game, it’s a big deal. Making it to the Finals is a big deal. This is a team that has never been to the Finals and we’re happy about that. It feels good with what we went through last year. We have to be happy. He said it best with all the work he's put into his craft: He’s ready for this moment. What he accomplished was amazing. That’s what stars do. How he’s handled everything on and off the court is well deserved. It was nice to see him fight through all the adversity and he’s earned every minute of this.”

Robertson was also asked about the deterioration of Leonard's relationship with the Spurs.

“I think it just became a lack of trust,” Robertson told Yahoo Sports. “They didn’t believe Kawhi couldn’t play and that caused a lack of trust in us and then us not believing in them. Any time a player says he’s not capable of playing, you should believe him. Why would Kawhi just stop playing all of a sudden? He’s a competitor. Sometimes you get these team doctors telling you what you can and cannot do, and Kawhi was just in too much pain to get out there. This was a serious issue. They didn’t believe him, and after that, the relationship couldn’t recover and we decided we had to move on.”

The Raptors were not on Leonard's list of teams prior to the trade.

“When you are initially traded somewhere you didn’t asked to be, you don’t want to accept it,” Robertson said. “But once you get through that period, the focus then turns to giving your all and performing at a high level. It never had anything to do with the city of Toronto. It wasn’t. Toronto is a beautiful city. Kawhi has often spoke highly of Toronto. It’s a beautiful place. That was just an initial reaction, which is normal. But we’re enjoying this run and looking forward to the Finals.”

Robertson was then asked about Leonard's free agency plans.

“I can’t get into other free agents and other teams, but for Kawhi, he’s going to take it one day and one game at a time,” Robertson said. “We have a championship opportunity in front of us. We’re not thinking about free agency; it’s the Warriors [right now]. Once we get through the season, we’ll turn our attention to free agency. But we’re just having fun right now. This has been a great year.”

LeBron James has begun his recruiting efforts to bolster the Los Angeles Lakers' roster this offseason in free agency.

The Lakers enter the offseason widely considered a longshot to sign someone on the level of Kawhi Leonard or Kevin Durant.

"From what I understand, he has already begun the recruiting process," said Brian Windhorst. "I have heard he has had contact with Kawhi Leonard. I have heard he has had contact with Jimmy Butler. There's no tampering enforcement by players. While Magic Johnson, the guy who got trouble for tampering before is no longer there, LeBron is tamperer-in-chief of the Lakers right now. The thing about it is, I don't know if texts and calls and maybe a dinner with LeBron is enough for the Lakers to overcome the hurdles they're going to have.

"I just don't think the Lakers can be choosy. To be honest, I think the Lakers really have to look at the trade market. Would they be willing to make an offer Bradley Beal? Would they be willing to make an offer for a guy like DeMar Rozan who could possibly be on the trade block depending on whether the Spurs want to extend his contract? Would they be willing to wait for Anthony Davis a year from now?"