Rich Paul insists his plan was never to go public with the trade demand of Anthony Davis in late January, according to reporting within a profile on him by S.L. Price in Sports Illustrated.

Paul approached Dell Demps on Jan. 25 of Davis requesting a trade. Demps responded that he would discuss the situation with Gayle Benson and then get back to him.

Demps instead called Davis himself and never got back to Paul.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN then contacted Paul to confirm the trade demands of Davis.

“It was necessary to go public,” Paul said. “When I told you, ‘Here’s our intentions,’ and you say, ‘Hey, let me talk to ownership,’ and instead of you talking to ownership you call Anthony Davis? That’s called being ignored.”

Paul objects to how Demps tried to get between him and Davis.

“That’s a no-no,” Paul said. “Every GM knows that.”

Demps was fired on February 15th after the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers were unable to consummate a trade.