The Portland Trail Blazers could pursue Anthony Davis as a realistic solution to their lack of star power. They reportedly expressed interest in landing Davis at the deadline, but the Dallas Mavericks weren't interested in taking on Jerami Grant's massive contract as a salary filler. Davis landed with the Washington Wizards instead, but there's a possibility he's on the move yet again before the start of the 2026-27 season.
NBA insider Jake Fischer recently reported via The Stein Line that the Blazers are targeting Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer, but adds that Davis is a contingency plan (subscription required). That could be a much more realistic option for Portland.
Anthony Davis is realistic trade target for Portland
General manager Joe Cronin made it clear in his exit interview that he doesn't want to sacrifice the Blazers' future in an offseason trade. It also largely depends on Giannis' willingness to commit to staying in Portland long-term, something he's previously been rumored to have no desire to do.
Davis fits the criteria much better as the cheap star upgrade Portland is looking for.
Admittedly, Davis comes with plenty of red flags that the Blazers would be taking on. Blazers insider Sean Highkin even said on X that Davis "checks every box for the kind of big name the Blazers *shouldn't* go after this summer," noting his age, injury risk, contract, and failure to solve Portland's glaring shooting problem.
Those are all extremely valid concerns.
At 33, Davis doesn't align with the timeline of their young core. He's averaged just 37.7 games played over the past three seasons (and the Blazers have a brutal history with injury-prone big men). He's also owed $58.4 million next season with a $62.8 million player option in 2027-28. That would be Portland's highest-paid player by a significant margin, making it much more complicated to upgrade their existing young core.
Perhaps most concerningly, Davis is a career 29.5 percent shooter from beyond the arc. Ideally, if the Blazers go all in for a star, it would be someone who addresses their glaring shooting need, as they were the 28th ranked three-point shooting team this season.
We agree with all of these red flags, yet we still think it's a low-risk move worth taking. It would be one thing if Portland were paying for peak value Anthony Davis. However, these valid concerns are already reflected in the market value.
Blazers should take a low-risk chance on Anthony Davis
Just look at how little Dallas received for trading Davis: Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, 2026 first-round pick (via OKC), and a 2030 top-20 protected first-round pick (via GSW). That's a whole lot of nothing (making Nico Harrison's shocking Luka Doncic trade somehow look even worse).
The concerns surrounding Davis understandably aren't every team's cup of tea, but I do think he fits well for the position the Blazers' front office has put themselves in. Portland is open to trading for a star, but Cronin added that it has to be at the right price and that they aren't going to sacrifice the future.
In other words, Portland seems content with straddling this puzzling two-timeline approach. They need a short-term rental to maximize the window for Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday and give themselves a realistic shot at a deep playoff run without sacrificing their long-term outlook.
That's where Davis comes in, flaws and all.
Add us as a preferred source on Google