Anthony Davis wasted no time rebuilding his value and reputation after a horrid last 18 months, while also reminding the Golden State Warriors what could have been after they considered a trade for the veteran big man during the offseason.
Davis may already be playing himself out of the Warriors' trade reach if they were to reconsider a move, having led the Wizards to a season opening 128-116 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.
Anthony Davis already playing himself out of Warriors' reach
Davis finished with a game-high 34 points and 12 rebounds on 11-of-20 shooting from the floor in 34 minutes, while also adding four assists, two steals and a block in a dominant performance from the 10x All-Star.
Now you could argue that if Davis has a strong start to the season, the Wizards may look to capitalize and sell high on the 33-year-old knowing he still has a significant injury history, and with the knowledge that he may still not entirely fit their timeline if he's asking for a three or four-year contract extension.
But that would also give Washington leverage which is in stark contrast to Golden State who now desperately need a starting quality big man amid their Kristaps Porzingis situation. That contrast may be too significant to overcome, leaving the two sides far too apart even if they were to enter into negotiations.
The other possibility is that Davis' form and impact is so imposing that the Wizards don't even consider trading him, and instead sign him to the sort of extension that they clearly weren't willing to during the offseason.
Anthony Davis' dominant Wizards debut came against Myles Turner
The ironic aspect is that Davis dominated against the very player who's emerged as a prominent trade possibility for the Warriors since reports that they're exploring Porzingis trades in the past 30 hours or so.
In the same game Myles Turner had 11 points, five rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes for the Milwaukee Bucks, shooting 4-of-7 from the floor and 2-of-5 from 3-point range. That's about a standard offensive performance since he arrived in Milwaukee, but Davis' scoring dominance doesn't say much about Turner's display on the defensive end as the Bucks gave after nearly 130 points.
Golden State have already reached out to Milwaukee in regard to a Porzingis trade, presumably with Turner coming the other way. However, The Athletic reports the Bucks don't have any interest in a deal at this stage.
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