In the Anthony Davis sweepstakes, don’t root for Sixers. Root against Celtics. | Bob Ford

The NBA trade deadline is next Thursday and it got a lot more interesting this week with the news that Anthony Davis, through agent Rich Paul, has requested a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans.

Depending on one’s rating of such things, the power forward is among the best players in the league that can be counted on the fingers of one hand. He’s also just 25 years old and itching to play for a championship, which is not a reasonable possibility in New Orleans.

Which NBA teams could find a few minutes for Anthony Davis? That would be all of them, including the 76ers, even if it did push Wilson Chandler out of the starting lineup.

The news that Davis will not re-sign with the Pelicans and would like to be elsewhere, which cost the player a $50,000 fine — the NBA frowns on publicly dissing its member organizations — set off potential trade scenarios around the league. Philadelphia wasn’t immune from that, even though it’s hard to envision a deal that makes sense for both sides, and even though the fix is apparently in for Davis to join the Los Angeles Lakers sooner or later.

Locally, fans have forgotten the painful lesson of last offseason when the hot debate was whether the Sixers, with their attractive young roster and wads of salary-cap space, should land LeBron James or Paul George in free agency, or go after a trade for Kawhi Leonard. Certainly, those guys would see the beauty of joining up to ride the cresting wave to shore.

Well, apparently not. Even if the self-immolation of the Colangelo Mob hadn’t left the organization a laughingstock, none of that was going to happen. The sad plane ride taken by Josh Harris, Brett Brown and others to Los Angeles to make their case to LeBron was particularly depressing when James didn’t even bother to attend the meeting. Only Rich Paul was there, who, along with Davis, represents James (not to mention Ben Simmons of the Sixers).

Playing trade speculation games is fun, but, like those other guys, Davis ain’t coming here and Sixers fans should just get that letdown out of the way right now. Only two things can happen next Thursday: Davis is traded to the Lakers or he isn’t traded at all.

New Orleans has a little wiggle room because Davis is under contract for one more season before becoming a free agent. If the Pelicans wait until the offseason, another attractive suitor figures to knock on the front door in the form of Danny Ainge. The Celtics have even more assets to offer than the Lakers, but can’t join the bidding now because they already have one designated rookie extension player acquired by trade on their roster (Kyrie Irving) and that’s the league limit.

If what Davis wants is the chance to play with LeBron — and that appears to be a mutual desire — he can’t really control where he is traded, but he can make clear there won’t be any contract extensions signed anywhere but Los Angeles. He might get fined for that, too, but what’s a few more bucks?

Making that declaration would limit the quality of the other trade offers, of course, and leave the Lakers as the best option. And the best offer will probably never be better than the one Magic Johnson and Lakers GM Rob Pelinka propose before the deadline. The Pelicans could wait, but they are playing the kind of serious hardball that can sink a franchise if they goof it up.

To make a deal work within the collective bargaining agreement, the Lakers are expected to offer some combination of Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, maybe an expiring contract like Lance Stephenson or Michael Beasley, and a draft pick or two. Boston could make an even more compelling offer, but won’t do so if uncertain of Davis’ intention to stay beyond 2019-20.

No, Davis is going to the Lakers, whether now or later. Get used to it. LeBron is doing that Dream Team thing again, and the Sixers, even if they mounted an offer, wouldn’t be in the game.

I hear your objections, but being on the outside looking in was the truth last summer, and it’s the truth now. Joel Embiid isn’t going anywhere. The Pelicans aren’t going to begin their major reconstruction around Jimmy Butler, who will be 30 next season. Rich Paul isn’t about to get a deal for one client (Davis) by sentencing another (Simmons) to take his place in prison. What else do you have? Markelle Fultz? Zhaire Smith? The expiring contracts of Chandler, JJ Redick and Mike Muscala? Making a trade work economically would be hard enough. Making it work logically is impossible.

The Sixers need additional help, that’s for sure. They need a backup center and a wing player or two that can both score and defend, not just one or the other. And, yes, a real stretch four wouldn’t hurt. With some luck in the buyout market, they can address some of those needs for the coming postseason.

It won’t happen with Anthony Davis, though, and the fondest wish of Sixers fans should have nothing to do with acquiring him. It should be a fervent prayer that the Celtics don’t.