Anthony Davis wants to be traded, he’s made that painfully clear. He’s ready to capitalize on his stardom and doesn’t want to be on the New Orleans Pelicans anymore. But for some reason, people continue to blame his agent, Rich Paul for that desire. Doing so is ridiculous.

On Wednesday’s “Undisputed” Jen Hale said she knows Davis well and basically blamed Paul for all of this, writing AD off as essentially an innocent bystander:

The idea that Davis is having his life run by Rich Paul is absolutely ridiculous. AD is 26 years old, he’s a grown man. Oh, and by the way, he hired Paul to represent him! Are we really supposed to believe that Paul would still be his agent if he wasn’t doing exactly what Davis wanted?

It’s easier to blame Paul for all this than it is to accept Davis simply wants more than New Orleans can offer him. Just like it’s easier to believe “Uncle Dennis” was really the one behind pushing Kawhi Leonard away from the San Antonio Spurs.

Here’s the reality: Players are drafted onto NBA teams that then control their fate for a long time. If they get good enough, they earn the ability to force a trade to another franchise, or they can seek it out in free agency. Davis is good enough to finally force his franchise to move him.

I don’t know much about Rich Paul but I do know he’s doing exactly what his client wants. If he wasn’t, Davis would fire him immediately.

SB Nation’s Harrison Faigen had the perfect take on this:

Yeah, what he said.