What was once a pipe dream appears to now be a real possibility, as source states the Portland Trail Blazers are emerging as candidates for Anthony Davis.
Much like the entirety of the NBA season to date, Anthony Davis trade rumors have dominated headlines. Even on the day the league will potentially crown a new NBA champion, the constant speculation is unavoidable. This time however, the Portland Trail Blazers are directly involved in the new wave of rumors.
In this new shocking turn of events, the Blazers have been implied to be a potential dark horse in the running to add Davis. While the thought of trading for the superstar drew the attention of many hopeful fans, there was previously not much evidence to substantiate the claims.
This morning Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN informed us all that David Griffin was preparing to give his ideal trade framework to potential Davis suitors.
ESPN Sources: New Orleans EVP of Basketball Operations David Griffin has started to provide Anthony Davis' trade suitors with the framework of the package he's seeking in a deal ---- which is likely to need multiple teams to complete. Story: https://t.co/hKZcySwpsG
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 10, 2019
Griffin appears poised to keep the New Orleans Pelicans in a competitive state even after dealing away the superstar, claiming to want a package that contained NBA-ready talent.
"“Griffin is pursuing a combination of assets that include an All-Star player, a young player with All-Star potential and two first-round picks, league sources said. Those wants are on a sliding scale. For example, the better the player, the softer the requests on the draft picks — and vice versa.”-Wojnarowski"
Conveniently enough, the Portland Trail Blazers currently possess all of the above assets. Michael McNamara – who has reported on the Pelicans via multiple blogs and is credited with predicting the recent hiring of Trajan Langdon as well as multiple 10-day contract players – took to Twitter to spill the beans from his alleged source.
If the Blazers successfully pulled the trigger on this big move, we can begin to piece together approximately what the deal would look like with the reported information from Wojnarowski and possibly leaked rumors from NBA executives.
Given the current information available, the final deal would look something along the lines of this:
In this scenario, all teams involved will get what they wanted out of the trade. Understandably, the exact details are almost certain to change from now and the time a legitimate deal gets done, but this is the best we’ve got given the circumstances.
The Pelicans receive a very good complementary package to help keep New Orleans competitive and in playoff contention in the absence of Davis. This return is especially surprising considering how trades for a superstar rarely (if ever) leave a good taste in the mouth of the team sending the superstar away.
The Hornets clear Nic Batum‘s albatross salary off the books and avoid paying him over $27 million through 2021 just by giving up a late lottery pick in a perceived weak draft. The money saved can be used to finally enlist some help for franchise cornerstone Kemba Walker.
The Blazers manage to snag one of the five best basketball players in the world from the jaws of their bigger-market rivals without giving up too much. Keeping Jusuf Nurkic in this deal is a huge win for Portland, allowing Davis to comfortably slide back into the power forward slot and not have to exert too much energy on the defensive end covering for his frontcourt partner.
Recent years have rewarded teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto Raptors for making bold moves and potentially sacrificing the future for a top talent in the league. Despite the media’s insistence that any notable free agent is dead set on joining the Lakers or the Knicks, it rarely ever happens. The Blazers are now on the brink of greatness and are one home run swing away from taking the Larry O’Brien Trophy back to Portland.