Getty Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans, who could find himself in the center of a trade involving the Boston Celtics.
As the regular season comes to a close, the Celtics creep closer and closer to being able to trade for the Pelicans’ Anthony Davis. Handcuffed by a combination of Kyrie Irving‘s “Rose Rule” contract and an obscure NBA rule allowing teams to only trade for one such player. As a result, the Celtics were forced to sit out of the Davis bidding war before the trade deadline and instead are waiting on Kyrie Irving to predictably opt out of the last year of his deal.
Celtics GM Danny Ainge has had eyes for Anthony Davis since his college days and has prepped the Celtics for his arrival by amassing an unmatched number of quality assets. With young stars like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier, and Marcus Smart all either on rookie or team-friendly deals to go along with their treasure trove of draft picks, the Celtics can build a Davis deal in a variety of different ways.
Anthony Davis Celtics Trade Option #1 – No Jayson Tatum (Most Likely)
*All Trades Built using ESPN’s Trade Machine
Although the Celtics have a number of talented youngsters, arguably no player has the upside and potential that Jayson Tatum brings to the table. The former third overall pick out of Duke has shown off his slick natural scoring ability to go with a clutch gene that came out during the Celtics 2018 NBA playoff run. As a result, it only makes sense that the Celtics would try to do everything possible to hang onto Tatum. In an ideal world, the Celtics would prefer to go this route and pair Irving, Hayward, and Tatum with the ultra-talented Davis.
Celtics Get: Anthony Davis
Pelicans Get: Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Aaron Baynes, 2019 LAC First Round Pick, 2020 MEM First Round Pick, 2020 CLE Second Round Pick, 2020 SAC Second Round Pick
This deal would allow the Pelicans to get Davis out of town while helping them recoup a significant amount of value. Especially if the Celtics are unwilling to part with Tatum, getting a haul of Jaylen Brown on a rookie deal alongside cost-effective players in Marcus Smart and Aaron Baynes to go with a heap of draft picks is extremely promising.
This helps to check the boxes for what the Pelicans are looking for as well. They reportedly want young talent, draft picks, and cap relief. While their cap is already extremely lean heading into the offseason, shedding Davis in this deal would save around $10 million heading into 2019-2020 on top of the assets they get in return.
Anthony Davis Celtics Trade Option #2 – Fine, we’ll give you Jayson Tatum
*All Trades Built using ESPN’s Trade Machine
In this offer, the Celtics are forced to give up young star Jayson Tatum (something they may not ever do) but offer less to the Pelicans in terms of future draft capital. Compared to the previous offer that includes two first-round picks that would likely land in the top half of the NBA draft, with Tatum in the mix, the Celtics are likely more comfortable scaling back the quality of those picks.
Celtics Get: Anthony Davis
Pelicans Get: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, 2019 BOS First Round Pick, 2020 SAC Second Round Pick, 2020 CLE Second Round Pick
This deal would probably never happen given the Celtics propensity to hang onto Tatum but is worth exploring nonetheless. Outside of landing Davis, this trade would have the Celtics looking fairly thin and lacking the cap flexibility to maneuver much in free agency. For the Pelicans, the deal makes complete sense as they land a potential future star in Jayson Tatum to go along with two extremely strong supporting pieces and some immediate draft capital in the 2019 draft.
Given the fact that this might actually make the Celtics a worse team in 2019-2020, the chances of this ever going through are fairly slim. That said, Danny Ainge is hellbent on landing Anthony Davis and if the Pelicans stand tall on their asking price, you never know.
Anthony Davis Celtics Trade Option #3 – Blow It All Up
*All Trades Built using ESPN’s Trade Machine
One possible – and incredibly unlikely – trade scenario would involve Boston moving a number of big-name players and a reshuffling of the two franchises’ rosters. Rather than focusing on only Davis, this trade would help the Celtics to hit the reset button on their roster while still offering the Pelicans a gaudy haul.
Celtics Get: Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday
Pelicans Get: Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, 2019 BOS First Round Pick, 2020 MEM First Round Pick, 2020 SAC Second Round Pick, 2020 CLE Second Round Pick
While this option would have the Pelicans take on slightly more money heading into 2019, they would be doubling the number of players on their roster. Gordon Hayward has struggled in his limited role with the Celtics following his ankle injury and a fresh start in New Orleans where he could function as the top dog might do wonders for his career. Moreover, the Pelicans would be getting a playoff caliber shooting guard, small forward, and power forward along with one of the league’s most versatile guards – immediately making them a better team.
For Boston, this would only sense if they somehow feel like they will lose Kyrie Irving in free agency. Assuming Horford opts back into his $30 million player option, the Celtics could run a frontcourt of Davis and Horford while having the scrappy Jrue Holiday patrol the perimeter. On paper, this would be one of the scariest defenses in the NBA. However, the Celtics would have gaping holes at the wing that they need to fill and would need to address in the upcoming draft as they will lack cap flexibility.