Milwaukee Bucks: Can they trade for Anthony Davis?
What would a deal look like?
There are likely two main versions of a deal for Anthony Davis, one centered around young pieces and salary relief, the other around veterans who are ready to win now. The pieces involved depends largely on the direction the Pelicans wish to take with the rest of this season and beyond.
Without Anthony Davis, the Pelicans are an even more top-heavy team, with Jrue Holiday, Julius Randle and Nikola Mirotic surrounded by bench-level players (or worse). If they choose to follow the path of Indiana, Minnesota or San Antonio with their recent trades, the Pelicans could go after Eric Bledsoe or Khris Middleton to stay in the playoff hunt.
They may also go the direction of Chicago, or Minnesota when they moved Kevin Love in 2014, and seek young prospects and draft picks. Milwaukee doesn’t have many high-end options here, but they do have plenty of young and inexpensive pieces who have shown they can be a part of an NBA rotation. That’s valuable, as at least some of the uncertainty and downside risk has been eliminated.
Live Feed
Sir Charles In Charge
For the Bucks to get into the running with their mix of assets, they will need to combine these two paths. Take a key piece and surround him with every young prospect the Pelicans want, plus a future first round pick. Will it be enough? Not if the Lakers go all-in, or the Pelicans wait until the summer and allow Boston into the mix. But if New Orleans wants to go now, and the Lakers hesitate? Or they refuse to trade with the Lakers because of the Rich Paul connection? Then perhaps Milwaukee gets a second look.
What a deal will not look like is a Giannis – Davis swap. While an interesting thought experiment, Antetokounmpo has been better than Davis this season and the entire scheme is built around him (although Davis could probably thrive in the same scheme). The Greek Freak is also less expensive and under contract for an additional year.
A deal is also unlikely to include a third team. While minor moves involving salary relief or bench assets may involve a third team, deals involving stars are almost always one-to-one transaction. The exception would be the Dwight Howard deal in 2012, but that was the exception, not the rule.
So what would the specifics of a deal be?