Portland Trail Blazers: Dreaming of a trade for Anthony Davis

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, here is a dream regarding the Portland Trail Blazers roster.

Martin Luther King Jr was and still to this day is a great inspiration to the people of this country. It truly is a tragedy that his life was cut so short because I think he could’ve made an even bigger impact on this country had his life been lived out to its fullest. There is still definitely work to do in the pursuit of equality, but this country is in a better state today than it would’ve been had we not been graced with the work of MLK. King had a big dream, and we must continue working to improve relations in this country.

I have a dream as well – definitely not as important as MLK’s, but a dream nonetheless. My dream is for the Portland Trail Blazers to make a trade for the New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis at the deadline. There are actually a number of possible trades that are successful on the NBA Trade Machine. Here is what I think the most realistic trade would be:

Two things need to happen for this trade to become even remotely realistic.  First, Anthony Davis would have to inform the Pelicans before the deadline that he intends to sign elsewhere after next season. Second, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics would have to be stingy enough with their young talent to make New Orleans look for a deal elsewhere. It’s clear that the Lakers and Celtics have more young assets than the Blazers, but, if they are unwilling to give them up, a door may open up for the Blazers.

Why would the Pelicans make this deal?

If the Blazers give up two of their young, promising players and a couple of draft picks, that might be enough to persuade the Pelicans to let go of AD. Evan Turner would be an immediate help in an already lacking backcourt; Zach Collins could turn into an all-star in the future playing as a stretch four or possibly even play some minutes at the 5 as his strength improves; and Anfernee Simons could be the future of the team at shooting guard.

On top of these players, the Pelicans would also receive two first-round draft picks, which they could use to further build for the future. AD may be worth more than all of these assets in the end, but there is a lot of potential there. If AD informs the Pelicans that he intends to leave anyways, this package  would be a lot better than letting him walk for nothing.

New Orleans would likely go into rebuild mode if they traded AD. Two or three young players with legitimate All-Star potential and two first-round picks would be a pretty good return for a guy that won’t be on their roster after 2020.

Why would the Blazers make this deal?

It’s Anthony Davis. This is a once-in-a-generation type of talent.

The Blazers would have to take the risk of AD leaving, but it would be worth it for a player of his caliber. Sure, this would be a huge risk as Portland would be trading away their entire future for him when he could walk in free agency. But they would have at least the next season and a half with him, and Davis immediately pushes any team into contention status, even with the Warriors waiting in the wings.

If the Blazers can make some noise in the postseason, or even get past the Warriors this year or the next, then AD could be persuaded to stay long term. He and Damian Lillard could be a crazy good duo. Adding in CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, and that’s a roster that could compete with anybody.

Again, this is a big dream and probably won’t happen. On a day like MLK Day though, it is only fitting to dream big. So to end this article on another serious note, I’d like to take this time to remind everybody to never forget how blessed we are to have had MLK, a true American hero.

“The time is always right to do what is right.” –Martin Luther King Jr.