From the beginning, there did seem to be a major issue with the notion of the Golden State Warriors pulling off a flurry of jaw-dropping moves that would get LeBron James and Anthony Davis to the Bay Area. The crux of the problem was that the math did not add up, and the actions being taken by all parties involved–not just the Warriors but the Lakers and the Wizards as well–did not seem to align with an impending series of seismic maneuvers.
While many were breathlessly reporting that the Warriors were about to trade for Davis from the Wizards and sign James with a midlevel contract, Golden State was going about insisting it was not going to trade rehabbing forward Jimmy Butler, and the Wizards were making clear they were not in the market to trade for Butler.
And while the full midlevel exception to sign James would require the Warriors to preserve the space under the league’s first luxury-tax apron, Golden State went out and signed free-agent center Kristaps Porzingis to a two-year, $40 million deal that essentially torpedoes their ability to sign James.
In other words, if the Warriors were planning to make these stunning moves, it seems someone forgot to tell the Warriors about it.
Anthony Davis, LeBron James Seeking Leverage
What’s going on, exactly? Why have we gotten a 24-hour cycle of reports about a pair of transactions the Warriors were supposedly keen on making that the team did not put itself in position to make?
One Western Conference executive speculated: “Seems like that who thing is all about leverage. it’s not about what’s going to happen with one team, it is about what players want from their own teams.”
That would be what Davis, who is eligible for a hefty contract extension worth $275 million over four years in August, wants from his current team, the Wizards. Washington has little incentive to pay Davis, who is 33 and played just 20 games last season–and 71 in his last two years–an exorbitant deal into his age 37 year. Davis wants it, anyway.
Similarly, James wants a hefty contract with his current team, the Lakers, but the Lakers appear to be shuffling their feet on keeping him around. The Lakers have him low on their to-do list this offseason–that likely does not sit well with James.
Warriors Making Moves or Being Used?
So is it any wonder that with both James and Davis seeking leverage, these wishful Warriors transactions start making the rounds? James and Davis are both represented by Klutch Sports and agent Rich Paul, and it is probably no coincidence that the fuel to the Warriors rumors really started to accumulate after Paul met with the Wizards to talk about Davis on Sunday.
But again, there were pretty obvious problems with all this–the Warriors aren’t trading Butler, Golden State was pushing forward with a Porzingis deal, the Wizards were still laying groundwork on Davis talks.
Maybe the Warriors will move the pieces around, maybe they will find a way to a sign-and-trade for James and maybe they’ll break their promise to Butler and trade him for Davis. It’s not impossible. Or maybe the Warriors are just the patsies here.
As another prominent league source noted, “It looks like a smokescreen. I think it is an awesome idea and would be fun for the league. But there is so much that does not make sense that it looks a lot more like an underhanded smokescreen from the agents.”
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