With a sizable portion of the offseason having been wrapped up already, next season’s Golden State Warriors are, as things stand, looking an awful lot like last season’s Warriors. Sure, they drafted Yaxel Lendeborg with the No. 11 overall pick, and they are hoping his versatility will fill a number of holes for them. Other than that, the Warriors signed back their top free agents, and did little else. But there’s still hope: they’re in the running to sign LeBron James, who apparently wants the team to bring in Anthony Davis to push the team to be more of a contender.
By now, you probably know the problem with all this. The Warriors would need to trade away Jimmy Butler to match salaries with Davis, and Butler is coming off surgery to repair an ACL he tore in January. The Warriors have had Butler, who is entering the final year of his contract, rehabbing with them since.
Warriors brass has told Butler they’re not going to trade him, which would eliminate the path to a Davis trade.
Warriors Hoping to Land LeBron James
Yahoo Sports NBA writer Kevin O’Connor, though, apparently cares little for the notion that the Warriors should keep their word to Butler. He excoriated the Warriors as “foolish” for not being willing to ship Butler out, with two first-round picks attached.
Here’s what O’Connor said: “There’s no indication they’re actually going to trade for Anthony Davis, which I think is a foolish decision. If you can get LeBron James and Anthony Davis by trading Jimmy Butler, who has a torn ACL and is in his mid-30s and is a shell of his former self, why would you not trade that guy to go get Anthony Davis?
“Because you’re afraid of giving up two future picks? F them picks. Forget about it, who cares? Go for it, you have Stephen Curry, still a Top 5-10 player in the NBA. Why would the Warriors not trade Jimmy Butler on a torn ACL and future picks to go get AD if it means bringing back AD and LeBron?”
Wizards Don’t Want to Trade Anthony Davis
It’s a hot take, but it does ignore some tough realities. The Warriors not wanting to break their word to Butler is one of them. Everyone lies, business is business, that’s the NBA–pick your cliche. But there is some honor in telling a player you’re going to do something (or not do it) and following through on your word.
Let’s say the Warriors torpedo their morality and lie to Butler. And let’s say the F them picks. There’s still another huge obstacle to pulling off a trade with the Wizards. That obstacle is the Wizards.
Washington wants to hold onto Davis, in hopes of either being competitive with him next season or getting him back on the floor until he boosts his value, then trading him. The Warriors can’t force the Wizards to trade Davis–even if Golden State did want to trade for him. So, it’s a nice idea. But maybe not practical.
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