Pelicans’ Davis seeks trade

Anthony Davis wants out of New Orleans. And the NBA might soon see a blockbuster trade come together.

The five-time all-star has told the Pelicans that he wants to be traded to a championship-contending team and will not sign an extension with New Orleans, agent Rich Paul said on Monday.

ESPN first reported Davis’ demand to be traded to a contender. It is a move that will resonate around the league, one that will have most – if not all – teams trying to see how they can put together a package good enough for the Pelicans to send Davis their way.

Davis is having the best season of his career, averaging 29.3 points and 13.3 rebounds per game. He’ll almost certainly become a six-time all-star later this week when the NBA announces the full rosters for this year’s game that will be played Feb. 17 in Charlotte.

Now it’s unclear if Davis will be there as a member of the Pelicans or not. The trade deadline is Feb. 7.

TENNIS

Maria Sharapova earned her first WTA win in her native Russia for 13 years after beating Daria Gavrilova, 6-0, 6-4, in the first round of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy on Monday.

In a win which sets up a second-round match against Russian No. 1 Daria Kasatkina, Sharapova brushed aside her Australian opponent Gavrilova in the first set. Gavrilova raced to 4-2 in the second but Sharapova won four straight games and closed out the match.

Sharapova has rarely played the Russian tour events during her career, and when she has she’s never got past the quarterfinals.

AUTO RACING

Eagle River native Natalie Decker is among the 28 finalists who will battle in March for 18 spots in the W Series, the first-year, women-only international single-seater series.

Decker, 21, was chosen after three days of testing and evaluation by a group of judges that included former Formula One drivers David Coulthard and Alexander Wurz and former sports-car and Indycar driver Lyn St. James.

Two other Americans are in the group surviving the cut from 54: Shea Holbrook and Sabre Cook.

SKIING

One of Switzerland’s best medal hopes for next month’s skiing world championships has ended her season to have surgery.

Michelle Gisin opted for an operation to repair the right knee ligaments she damaged in a World Cup super-G race on Saturday in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, the Swiss ski federation said in a statement.

It’s the first serious injury for the 25-year-old Gisin, who won the Olympic title in Alpine combined last year and silver in that event at the 2017 world championship.

BASEBALL

Longtime San Francisco Giants owner Peter Magowan has died at the age of 76.

The team said Magowan died Sunday after a battle with cancer.

Magowan helped form the ownership group that bought the franchise for $100 million from Bob Lurie in December 1992 to keep the team from moving to Tampa Bay. One of his first moves was signing Barry Bonds to a six-year, $43.5 million free agent deal even before he formally completed the purchase of the team.

With the game’s greatest slugger in place, the Giants went on to have great success and Magowan put together a plan to build a privately funded ballpark on the water in downtown San Francisco. That park opened in 2000 and became one of the jewels of the game.

In the fold: The Kansas City Royals and versatile second baseman Whit Merrifield agreed to a $16.25 million, four-year contract.