Adding an MVP in their prime to a 73-win team can really make you think anything is possible.
Somehow, the Warriors remain in the Anthony Davis sweepstakes after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the finals.
The obvious question that Golden State fans, Joe Lacob, and NBA fans hoping for more competitive balance are asking:
Can the Golden State Warriors really add Anthony Davis to a core of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green?
In the next 2 years? That's nearly impossible.
In 2 years they would have to let Draymond Green and/or Klay Thompson walk to have enough salary cap to offer Davis near a maximum contract.
As far as trading for him now?
Golden State is a luxury tax team and so their incoming trade salaries can be up to 125% of the outgoing salary, plus $100,000 (per cbafaq.com). The 2017-18 salaries are the numbers used through June transactions; July is the start of the next NBA season and starts factoring in the 2018-19 salaries.
Without factoring the unlikely possibility of Golden State signing-and-trading one of their end of the bench guys to a nearly mid-level deal to facilitate the trade, the Warriors would need to deal at least Andre Igoudala and Shaun Livingston to have enough outgoing salary.
Shaun Livingston and Andre Igoudala are not getting you Anthony Davis.
But, wait! Do the Warriors have young players or draft picks to sweeten the deal?
YOUNG PLAYERS
Unfortunately for Oakland, the only young players are Jordan Bell, Patrick McCaw, and Kevin Looney.
Looney will be a free agent and likely gone because the Warriors can only offer the unrestricted free agent a starting salary of $2.2 million after turning down his team option.
McCaw has shown glimpses but has only averaged 4.0 points per game and does not have much trade value.
Bell had a good season and would be the only legitimate young player to send out in a deal for Davis.
PICKS
With Golden State so good, there is not substantial value of a first-round pick that is destined to be the 28-30th pick.
The Ted Stepien rule prohibits trading future 1st round picks in consecutive years if there is any chance the team will be left without a pick for 2 consecutive years in the future. So they could trade 2018, 2020, and 2022 (and add up to 2024) before the draft or make the pick and then trade the draft rights and 2019, 2021, and 2023 (also could add 2025).
The earliest they can currently include a 2nd round pick is 2021. With those likely being between the 58-60th pick, they have little trade value.
BEST NON-STAR DEAL
The best that the Warriors could offer would likely be Andre Igoudala, Shaun Livingston, Jordan Bell, select 2018 draft pick for Pelicans, unprotected 2019 1st round pick, 2021 unprotected 1st round pick, unprotected 2023 1st round pick, and unprotected 2025 1st round pick.
Two aging veterans, a young player on an expiring contract, and several late first round and second round picks are still not going to be good enough for a 25 year-old MVP candidate who could directly be traded for the #1 pick in the draft.
However, if you watch the above clip from CBS Sports, you can see why a deal around Draymond Green or Klay Thompson could be a legitimate option.
After winning 3 rings, is there any chance that 2 All-Stars will sacrifice $80 million each for early extensions after watching Steph Curry and Kevin Durant get max deals?
Klay Thompson and Draymond Green will have their last shot at what could be a maximum contract- they are not going to leave money on the table.
Draymond Green has already made this public, as Chris Haynes of ESPN recently reported:
That is where it gets tricky for Golden State. The NBA has no hard cap on spending, but the financial burden of keeping a team above the luxury tax makes it an incredibly difficult pill to swallow, even for a championship team.
Will Joe Lacob be willing to pay his 4 stars each well over $30 million/yr? The team would still have to pay for a minimum of 8 more roster holds. Financially, it merits looking into other avenues to improve the team and save money. The financial burden would be equivalent to paying for 2-3 teams salaries.
STILL POSSIBLE?
For all that Draymond Green and Klay Thompson bring to the team, neither are on par with the younger and significantly more talented Anthony Davis.
If there is going to be a deal for Anthony Davis, then Green and/or Thompson will be involved.
The financial burdens will still exist for the Warriors if they trade only 1 of the players for Anthony Davis. The team would be even better if they could manage to trade Green or Thompson, Igoudala, and first round picks. However, that offer may be bested by Danny Ainge in Boston(Kyrie Irving, young assets, and picks) or other teams willing to gut their roster for the franchise building block.
That is why they should seriously consider trading both of them for Anthony Davis.
PULL THE TRIGGER
A package of Draymond Green and Klay Thompson would be the absolute best offer that the New Orleans Pelicans could hope for.
This deal would lock in a bright future for a franchise that has struggled to maintain success. Pairing Green and Thompson with All-Defensive 1st team Jrue Holiday would be a match made in heaven and an opportunity for them to build their own "superteam" outside of California. They can grow as players outside of the shadow of Curry and Durant and build their own legacy. Add in Nikola Mirotic and potentially bring back Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins.
A starting 5 of Rondo, Holiday, Thompson, Green, and Cousins would be a championship contender. Mirotic, Solomon Hill, Cheick Diallo, Darius Miller, and an MLE player would round out the bench.
Golden State would have 3 of the best 5 players in the NBA on one team in their prime. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Anthony Davis can all have max contracts and continue to carry a team for the next 5 years until Durant mulls retirement. Over the next few years they can continue to add talent and Davis can contribute for the next decade to the dynasty, continuing for years after Curry and Durant retire. New Orleans would send E'Twaun Moore to start at SG and a 1st round pick to give the Warriors another piece to flip in trades.
Warriors start Curry, Moore, Igoudala, Durant, and Davis. Bell, McCaw, Livingston, and other veterans fill out the bench.
THE PACKAGE
GSW: Draymond Green, Klay Thompson
NOP: Anthony Davis, E'Twaun Moore, 2019 unprotected 1st round pick
VERDICT
It is highly unlikely that the Warriors would trade 2 important parts of their championship team; trading for Anthony Davis would give the Warriors a younger future MVP building block, clear up financial concerns of Thompson and Durant, and bring together the best trio in the history of the NBA.
Warriors remain interested in acquiring Anthony Davis, per @timkawakami https://t.co/4sxC0GcQiQ pic.twitter.com/jk1w2txgLr— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 11, 2018
Somehow, the Warriors remain in the Anthony Davis sweepstakes after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the finals.
The obvious question that Golden State fans, Joe Lacob, and NBA fans hoping for more competitive balance are asking:
Can the Golden State Warriors really add Anthony Davis to a core of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green?
In the next 2 years? That's nearly impossible.
In 2 years they would have to let Draymond Green and/or Klay Thompson walk to have enough salary cap to offer Davis near a maximum contract.
As far as trading for him now?
Golden State is a luxury tax team and so their incoming trade salaries can be up to 125% of the outgoing salary, plus $100,000 (per cbafaq.com). The 2017-18 salaries are the numbers used through June transactions; July is the start of the next NBA season and starts factoring in the 2018-19 salaries.
Without factoring the unlikely possibility of Golden State signing-and-trading one of their end of the bench guys to a nearly mid-level deal to facilitate the trade, the Warriors would need to deal at least Andre Igoudala and Shaun Livingston to have enough outgoing salary.
Shaun Livingston and Andre Igoudala are not getting you Anthony Davis.
But, wait! Do the Warriors have young players or draft picks to sweeten the deal?
YOUNG PLAYERS
Unfortunately for Oakland, the only young players are Jordan Bell, Patrick McCaw, and Kevin Looney.
Looney will be a free agent and likely gone because the Warriors can only offer the unrestricted free agent a starting salary of $2.2 million after turning down his team option.
McCaw has shown glimpses but has only averaged 4.0 points per game and does not have much trade value.
Bell had a good season and would be the only legitimate young player to send out in a deal for Davis.
PICKS
With Golden State so good, there is not substantial value of a first-round pick that is destined to be the 28-30th pick.
The Ted Stepien rule prohibits trading future 1st round picks in consecutive years if there is any chance the team will be left without a pick for 2 consecutive years in the future. So they could trade 2018, 2020, and 2022 (and add up to 2024) before the draft or make the pick and then trade the draft rights and 2019, 2021, and 2023 (also could add 2025).
The earliest they can currently include a 2nd round pick is 2021. With those likely being between the 58-60th pick, they have little trade value.
BEST NON-STAR DEAL
The best that the Warriors could offer would likely be Andre Igoudala, Shaun Livingston, Jordan Bell, select 2018 draft pick for Pelicans, unprotected 2019 1st round pick, 2021 unprotected 1st round pick, unprotected 2023 1st round pick, and unprotected 2025 1st round pick.
Two aging veterans, a young player on an expiring contract, and several late first round and second round picks are still not going to be good enough for a 25 year-old MVP candidate who could directly be traded for the #1 pick in the draft.
However, if you watch the above clip from CBS Sports, you can see why a deal around Draymond Green or Klay Thompson could be a legitimate option.
After winning 3 rings, is there any chance that 2 All-Stars will sacrifice $80 million each for early extensions after watching Steph Curry and Kevin Durant get max deals?
Klay Thompson and Draymond Green will have their last shot at what could be a maximum contract- they are not going to leave money on the table.
Draymond Green has already made this public, as Chris Haynes of ESPN recently reported:
According to league sources, Green will turn the extension down when it's offered. That's because if he earns MVP, Defensive Player of the Year or All-NBA Team honors next season, he will be eligible for a super-max contract of five years, $226 million.No one anticipated Green being in such a lucrative position coming out of Michigan State. But if he achieves one of those incentives, will the Warriors be willing to pay a 30-year-old (in March 2020) Green that much? Or would Lacob let him walk or try to trade him if Bell shows he's capable of filling Green's role?Sources say Green is not expected to take a pay cut on the next go-around. But the team's glue guy and architect said he isn't worried about his next contract negotiation.
That is where it gets tricky for Golden State. The NBA has no hard cap on spending, but the financial burden of keeping a team above the luxury tax makes it an incredibly difficult pill to swallow, even for a championship team.
Will Joe Lacob be willing to pay his 4 stars each well over $30 million/yr? The team would still have to pay for a minimum of 8 more roster holds. Financially, it merits looking into other avenues to improve the team and save money. The financial burden would be equivalent to paying for 2-3 teams salaries.
STILL POSSIBLE?
For all that Draymond Green and Klay Thompson bring to the team, neither are on par with the younger and significantly more talented Anthony Davis.
If there is going to be a deal for Anthony Davis, then Green and/or Thompson will be involved.
The financial burdens will still exist for the Warriors if they trade only 1 of the players for Anthony Davis. The team would be even better if they could manage to trade Green or Thompson, Igoudala, and first round picks. However, that offer may be bested by Danny Ainge in Boston(Kyrie Irving, young assets, and picks) or other teams willing to gut their roster for the franchise building block.
That is why they should seriously consider trading both of them for Anthony Davis.
PULL THE TRIGGER
"Davis would have to want out, and then the Warriors would have to meet New Orleans' trade price," Kawakami explained. "That would almost certainly have to include either Klay Thompson or Draymond Green or potentially both."
A package of Draymond Green and Klay Thompson would be the absolute best offer that the New Orleans Pelicans could hope for.
This deal would lock in a bright future for a franchise that has struggled to maintain success. Pairing Green and Thompson with All-Defensive 1st team Jrue Holiday would be a match made in heaven and an opportunity for them to build their own "superteam" outside of California. They can grow as players outside of the shadow of Curry and Durant and build their own legacy. Add in Nikola Mirotic and potentially bring back Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins.
A starting 5 of Rondo, Holiday, Thompson, Green, and Cousins would be a championship contender. Mirotic, Solomon Hill, Cheick Diallo, Darius Miller, and an MLE player would round out the bench.
Golden State would have 3 of the best 5 players in the NBA on one team in their prime. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Anthony Davis can all have max contracts and continue to carry a team for the next 5 years until Durant mulls retirement. Over the next few years they can continue to add talent and Davis can contribute for the next decade to the dynasty, continuing for years after Curry and Durant retire. New Orleans would send E'Twaun Moore to start at SG and a 1st round pick to give the Warriors another piece to flip in trades.
Warriors start Curry, Moore, Igoudala, Durant, and Davis. Bell, McCaw, Livingston, and other veterans fill out the bench.
THE PACKAGE
GSW: Draymond Green, Klay Thompson
NOP: Anthony Davis, E'Twaun Moore, 2019 unprotected 1st round pick
VERDICT
It is highly unlikely that the Warriors would trade 2 important parts of their championship team; trading for Anthony Davis would give the Warriors a younger future MVP building block, clear up financial concerns of Thompson and Durant, and bring together the best trio in the history of the NBA.
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