The Golden State Warriors are at a crucial inflection point in the history of their franchise. The last time they tried to work with two timelines, it failed miserably. Just a few years ago, fresh off a championship, they attempted to play young guys and their old core. It didn’t work. Now, they’re facing a similar decision.
Mid-way through the season, the Warriors are on the outside looking in of the Play-In Tournament and have been playing subpar basketball for weeks (almost months) at this point. Stephen Curry is still good enough to lead a team to a deep playoff run, but is his supporting cast?
Well, this trade idea concocted by Bill Simmons of The Ringer on his podcast, The Bill Simmons Podcast, would certainly help solve that potential problem.
Warriors trade idea would send Draymond Green to Lakers for Anthony Davis
He suggested an absolutely insane deal with the Los Angeles Lakers that would involve a swap of Anthony Davis for Draymond Green and other pieces.
Here’s the full outline of the suggested trade:
Warriors get: Anthony Davis
Lakers get: Draymond Green, Dennis Schroder, Jonathan Kuminga, Trayce Jackson-Davis, 2025 First-round pick, 2027 First-round pick
First and foremost, the likelihood of this trade actually happening is slim to none. The Lakers want to compete with Davis and LeBron James. That seems pretty clear. That said, if Davis did decide to request a trade from the Lakers (for whatever reason), this would be a pretty solid haul for LA.
From the Warriors’ perspective, however, this trade may be a bit short-sighted.
Pairing Davis with Curry would form an elite duo. He would be the second-best player Curry has ever teamed up with, behind only Kevin Durant. Even at this point in his career, Davis is a Top 15 player in the NBA (and could very easily be Top 10).
However, it would leave Golden State with a rotation of Curry, Davis, Andrew Wiggins, Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Moses Moody, Kyle Anderson, and Kevon Looney. They could hope Quentin Post and Gui Santos continue to develop, but that’s a pretty thin roster led by a nine-man rotation.
Plus, giving up Kuminga and Jackson-Davis in the deal would leave Podziemski and Moody as the Warriors’ only real young assets.
Could a Curry and Davis-led lineup compete with the likes of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, and Memphis Grizzlies deep into the playoffs? Maybe. Could they beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, or New York Knicks in an NBA Finals matchup? Perhaps.
Is it worth giving up as big of a haul as outlined here to try and find out? Probably not.
This idea is very interesting, but it’s flawed.
Grade: C+