Getty Anthony Davis defends Klay Thompson during a bout between the Golden State Warriors and the LA Lakers.
The start of the 2022-23 NBA season is just over a month away and unlike last year when uncertainty abounded with Klay Thompson’s rehab, the Golden State Warriors are now defending champions and threats to repeat. So, it should come as no surprise that the team kept its core pieces intact over the summer.
Sure, there was turnover in the second unit, where Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr. headlined a cadre of departees, but Steve Kerr’s “foundational six” — Stephen Curry, Thompson, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole and Kevin Looney — continue to lead the charge.
While that’s great news for Dub Nation, even the biggest Bay Area homer would confess that one of those players, Looney, is a rung below his counterparts. Indeed, his incredible availability, lunch-pail mentality and years of service to the franchise notwithstanding, the three-time champ leaves something to be desired as a starting pivot.
As such, pundits and fans alike continue to float potential trade targets in an effort to find the Warriors a bona fide starting big. To that end, FanNation‘s Alex Kirschenbaum just pitched a whopper in Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis.
A Trade Bringing Anthony Davis to the Dubs (If You’re Into That Kind of Thing)
Kirschenbaum’s latest foray into hypothetical dealing was entitled “Why Anthony Davis Trade To Golden State Could Benefit Both Sides.” And while there are people on both sides that might quibble with that concept — including this writer — there are certainly pathways toward making a deal, if that’s you’re aim.
Today, we’re pitching the following:
- Golden State Warriors receive C Anthony Davis and PG Kendrick Nunn
- Los Angeles Lakers receive G/F Andrew Wiggins, C James Wiseman and two first-round picks (2026 and 2028)
Make no mistake, Davis has been more injured than most in recent years, so you’re putting a lot of eggs in a fragile basket here. That said, he’s still just a couple of years removed from being a top-five, six, seven player in the Association.
And last season, even as he contended with knee and ankle injuries, he still averaged 23.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.2 steals per contest.
In theory, he would make the Warriors even more formidable on both sides of the ball, giving the club a body to make life hard on the opposing trees (instead of the other way around). Meanwhile, Golden State would also add a high-scoring guard to run point when Steph sits, something it hasn’t consistently had in recent years.
The best part: unlike some of the other Davis trade permutations we’ve seen, Poole, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody all remain untouched and the Dubs only lose one rotational player from their title run.
Why the Lakers Might Pull the Plug on AD
AD and LeBron James have shown how dominant they can be together when everyone is healthy and clicking, leading their squad to the 2020 bubble championship. Unfortunately, “healthy and clicking” is rarely an accurate descriptor for the Lakers.
As such, there’s a chance that the Lake Show’s title window has closed, barring a massive roster overhaul behind its stars and significantly better luck on the injury front for the aging duo.
Getting Russell Westbrook’s money off the books next summer will help, and the club has already added a pair of intriguing youngsters (Lonnie Walker, Troy Brown Jr) this offseason, but a lot of things are working against Rob Pelinka and Darvin Ham in their effort to get the team back to the contender’s table.
The time to think about the future may be upon us, and in a world where the Utah Jazz got a bajillion picks for their post-Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell reboot, receiving a young-ish All-Star, a former No. 2 pick and a two future firsts isn’t a half-bad return for an oft-injured star turning 30.