The Golden State Warriors are always on the lookout for stars. Could they make a play for two-way star big man Anthony Davis? What if the cost is Jimmy Butler?
The latest star name to hit the trade market is Anthony Davis, and his name is music to the ears of Mike Dunleavy and, in particular, Joe Lacob. The Warriors have long struggled against mobile, massive rim protectors in the vein of Davis, and the organization has likewise long coveted a player of that ilk. It's why they went after DeAndre Jordan, it's why they drafted James Wiseman, and it's why they would leap into the fray for Anthony Davis.
How could the Warriors trade for Davis and his $54 million salary? That's a more difficult question, and the answer is that they almost certainly have to trade one of their three main players: Stephen Curry (obviously not), Draymond Green or Jimmy Butler.
They have had one of the greatest offensive players of all time and the greatest defensive player of his generation paired together for the last dozen years, and the result was six trips to the NBA Finals and four championships. Now, as they teeter on the edge of their window of contention, they are looking for ways to make one last run this year or next.
The latest star name to hit the trade market is Anthony Davis, and his name is music to the ears of Mike Dunleavy and, in particular, Joe Lacob. The Warriors have long struggled against mobile, massive rim protectors in the vein of Davis, and the organization has likewise long coveted a player of that ilk. It's why they went after DeAndre Jordan, it's why they drafted James Wiseman, and it's why they would leap into the fray for Anthony Davis.
How could the Warriors trade for Davis and his $54 million salary? That's a more difficult question, and the answer is that they almost certainly have to trade one of their three main players: Stephen Curry (obviously not), Draymond Green or Jimmy Butler.
Fansided's Zach Buckley came up with a 3-team trade to unlock this possibility, and he did so by choosing Butler as the outgoing salary. Which teams in the NBA would want to trade for Butler, an aging star in his own right with drastic strengths and weaknesses and a mercurial attitude? Why, the Sacramento Kings, of course.
Buckley's trade routed Butler to the Kings, picks and players to the Mavericks, and Anthony Davis to the Warriors. Here is what the deal looks like in full:
Grade the Trade: Davis to the Warriors
This trade is one that makes some sense for the Sacramento Kings if they remain averse to a rebuild. Butler can be an adult in the room and help to instill winning habits, and with DeMar DeRozan leaving they get a better defender and connector without further harming their spacing. Is it wise? No, but no one has ever applied that label to this organization, at least not in 25 years.
The Dallas Mavericks get back a solid pair of draft picks -- one in the near-term, one down the road -- and a rehabillitation project in recent lottery pick Devin Carter. DeRozan can be waived next summer, but he and Malik Monk can both be flipped to other teams at the Trade Deadline or after the season. It's not an overwhelming offer for the Mavericks, but it's reasonable enough to happen.
What about from the Warriors' side? Financially this deal is a wash; Davis and Butler make exactly the same amount of money this season down to the penny. Trading for Davis likely assumed that they will extend him this summer, but it's not a requirement.
On defense, the Warriors would likely leap back into the upper echelons in the league. The combination of Draymond Green and Anthony Davis would be utterly devastating. Butler is a solid defender; Davis is one of the league's half-dozen most impactful paint presences and mobile big defenders. Teams would shrivel on the vine trying to attack this group.
On offense, Davis would give the Warriors a presence they haven't truly had since JaVale McGee, a rim-running vertical threat who remains one of the league's best interior finishers. Davis struggles when he is miscast as a shot creator; on a team with Green slinging passes and the likes of Stephen Curry drawing defensive attention, he is bound to end up in the paint with an advantage and the ball flying through the air to him.
The asset cost is also reasonable. Jimmy Butler and a first-round pick is not all that much to pay for a player of Davis's talent, someone who -- when healthy, which we will get to in a moment -- is a Top-15 player in the league. Butler is underrated when it comes to impacting winning, but he's somewhere outside that group.
The timeline is also not as worrisome to the Warriors as to other teams in trading for the 32-year old Davis; Butler is 36 years old, and Curry is 37 years old with a quickly closing prime. The Warriors are trying to maximize the next two seasons.
The giant barrier to such a trade is the injury history. Anthony Davis hasn't proven that he can stay healthy. When he is on the court he is a monster; he is off the court so much that upside begins to not matter as much. Can the Warriors trust him to be on the court? Will they believe in their medical staff over the Mavericks' much-maligned group to get Davis healthy?
This is the kind of trade the Warriors would be right to consider. It has the upside to be a title-deciding move; Davis when healthy is that good. The massive downside risk that he won't be available for the playoffs matters here, and it may well close the door on a trade. But the upside is a real chance at pushing the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Grade: B+