The Golden State Warriors were linked to Anthony Davis for weeks earlier this offseason, having been inextricably linked to their pursuit of his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate LeBron James.
The Warriors, according to The Ringer's Logan Murdock, were too concerned over Davis' injury history to ultimately pursue a trade, with former guard Klay Thompson reportedly reaching the same realization two years earlier.
Klay Thompson reached Anthony Davis realization Warriors just acted on
Thompson departed Golden State for the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 offseason, turning down a bigger offer from the Lakers to sign a three-year, $50 million contract. As the five-time All-Star now exits the Mavericks on a buyout that sees him destined for the Miami Heat, Christian Clark of The Athletic reports that Thompson turned down a move to the Lakers two years ago partly because of Davis' injury concerns.
"But one of the reasons Thompson chose the Mavericks over the Lakers was that he had concerns about Davis’ availability, a source with knowledge of his thinking said," Clark reported on Saturday.
Thompson was right to hold those concerns, with Davis playing in just 71 of a possible 164 games over the past two years since that free agency decision. The 33-year-old has vowed to be far more available for the Washington Wizards this season, but only time will tell and clearly the Warriors weren't convinced enough to pull off a Davis trade.
The Wizards are hardly convinced either, having mutually decided to park contract extensions with Davis until midway through the season to get a better sense of his availability and impact on a talented young roster.
Klay Thompson and Anthony Davis ironically became teammates anyway
The irony here is that Thompson actively avoided a move to play with Davis, yet they ended up becoming teammates anyway after the Mavericks shockingly traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers for the All-Star big man.
But as Thompson seemingly predicted, the pair only played 27 games together (14-13 record) before Davis was shipped to the Wizards for a fairly mediocre return at February's mid-season trade deadline.
The Doncic-Davis trade set in motion a complete revamp at the Mavericks and a significantly different timeline Thompson wasn't going to be part of, leading to his buyout agreement on Friday and planned move to the Heat on a two-year, $13 million contract.
The Warriors are still looking for their next big move after an underwhelming offseason, and could theoretically renew interest in Davis should he stay on the floor consistently through the first half of the season.
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