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3 last minute trades to bring Anthony Davis to the Portland Trail Blazers

By Austin Carroll

PORTLAND, OR - JANUARY 18: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans looks on during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on January 18, 2019 at the Moda Center Arena in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - JANUARY 18: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans looks on during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on January 18, 2019 at the Moda Center Arena in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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MEMPHIS, TN – MARCH 23: Mike Conley #11 of the Memphis Grizzlies looks on during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at FedExForum on March 23, 2019 in Memphis, Tennessee. Minnesota won 112-99. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN – MARCH 23: Mike Conley #11 of the Memphis Grizzlies looks on during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at FedExForum on March 23, 2019 in Memphis, Tennessee. Minnesota won 112-99. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

As far as trades for Anthony Davis go, grabbing the superstar without sacrificing any of your core pieces is about as ideal as it gets. The premise of the move below hinges around Memphis’ desire to ship out Mike Conley for future assets and build around highly touted draft prospect Ja Morant.

For starters, Conley is currently better than any other individual player on the trade market not named Anthony Davis. Los Angeles, Boston, Brooklyn and even Portland aren’t in position to offer anyone better than Conley in a trade package. For this reason, Conley becomes an incredibly valuable trade piece.

If New Orleans is serious about their desire to remain competitive next year, Conley would be an excellent fit with the team. Adding Conley allows Jrue Holiday to slide back into his more natural position at shooting guard, where the pair will form an elite backcourt strong in both the playmaking and defensive departments. Anfernee Simons and the added draft capital would be insurance to keep the Pelicans competitive for years to come.

Zion Williamson would be hard pressed to find a better mentor than Conley – finalist for the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award and former recipient of NBA Cares Community Assist Award. A rather lengthy list of Conley’s community service accomplishments could be written down, but you probably get the point by now. A tandem of Conley and Holiday would be fantastic for Williamson’s development, setting the table for Zion at every opportunity and getting the most out of his game.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies would receive fair compensation for sending away their beloved franchise legend. At last season’s trade deadline, Memphis was reportedly interested in moving Conley for Dante Exum, draft picks, and expiring contracts. That trade obviously fell through; with the expected addition of Morant, that’s probably a good thing. Now the Grizzlies can switch gears and find an excellent frontcourt partner next to Jaren Jackson Jr. in Zach Collins.

Meanwhile, E’Twaun Moore and Evan Turner can serve as mentors for Morant before their contracts expire at the end of the year. This move also clears the books in 2020 free agency without Conley’s enormous salary on the payroll. Receiving a pair of second-round picks back also helps Memphis recuperate from their failed Justin Holiday experiment.

As for the Blazers, they’d obviously be thrilled to retain both CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic. A starting lineup including Lillard, McCollum, Davis, Nurkic and an MLE wing is immediately becomes a favorite in the Western Conference. Portland could also likely sniff out a few veterans willing to join the Blazers on a minimum contract, bolstering the bench in pursuit of a championship ring.