There's been multiple reports over the past week of the Golden State Warriors' plan to sign Kristaps Porzingis to a contract extension, including again on Sunday from NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer.
Yet another report came later on Sunday linking the Warriors to a blockbuster trade for Anthony Davis, potentially putting the Porzingis plan into chaos less than 48 hours from the official start of free agency.
Kristaps Porzingis plan thrown into chaos with Anthony Davis rumors
Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports detailed how Golden State is trying to utilize a potential Davis trade acquisition to lure LeBron James as a free agent, setting up the possibility of a two-star move that would quickly become the talk of the league.
But what does that mean for Porzingis and this idea of him getting an extension? Does this mean the Warriors are trying to have all four of Davis, Porzingis, Draymond Green and the recently signed Al Horford? That would be one of the most notable big man quartets of all-time, yet also one of the oldest and most injury-prone.
The idea of asking Rick Celebrini and the medical staff to look after Davis, Porzingis and Horford seems proposterous, yet the on-court fit of having two of those on the floor at all times (in the limited games they're all healthy) does actually make some sense.
Porzingis and Horford could provide the spacing to Davis' interior scoring and pick-and-roll ability, while defensively the 10x All-Star could play more at the four which might (emphasis on might) reduce his workload and the subsequent chance of picking up injuries.
Kristaps Porzingis would be impacted greatly by Anthony Davis move
Even if Golden State re-signed Porzingis and added Davis, they'd likely need the Latvian to take a significant pay cut in order to accommodate James on the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. They might also just let him walk as a free agent, though that would go against all the reporting we've heard in the lead up to free agency.
The least likely outcome, regardless of a Davis trade or not, is Porzingis getting a three-year contract that would constitute a legal sign-and-trade. That might be the ideal outcome if they land Davis, but it's hard to see Porzingis getting three years after a season in which he played just 32 combined games with Golden State and the Atlanta Hawks.
Porzingis' future and contract not only stands to be potentially impacted by these Davis-James rumors, but so too his role where his standing in Golden State's offensive pecking order could slide dramatically in the coming days.
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