Toronto Raptors: A trade proposal for Anthony Davis
Toronto’s perspective
Let’s take a look at the potential landing spots for Anthony Davis. The clear favorites are the Los Angeles Lakers, who were in a pretty similar situation last year. They could’ve traded for Paul George in exchange for some young pieces, but instead waited until the free agency to get him for free. As a result, they failed to sign him, ultimately being left hanging. Mistakes are made so you can learn from them, but when it comes to the Lakers, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if they repeated this scenario.
Up next we have the Boston Celtics, who are loaded with more than enough talent to offer for Davis. But there’s a catch: the “Derrick Rose Rule“. This rule was implemented by the league in 2011 so that young stars would be compensated more once their rookie contracts expired. These extensions are called Designated Player Rookie Scale Extensions.
Even though teams are allowed to have two players under these contracts at the same time, a maximum of one player must come via trade. Unfortunately for the Celtics, that player is Kyrie Irving, who they acquired in the summer of 2017 from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
To make a long story short, for the Boston Celtics acquiring Kyrie Irving pretty much means they’ll have to wait until July, when Irving is a free agent, to make a trade for the Brow.
Enter the Toronto Raptors. Already having completed a blockbuster trade to acquire Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors could make another move before the trade deadline, and Anthony Davis could be their guy.
Last summer, the Raptors made it perfectly clear they weren’t okay with just being good. They wanted to be the alpha dogs in the Eastern Conference. Even though the team has been playing at an elite level so far, battling for the top seed in the East, there is still no clear sign that Kawhi Leonard will re-sign with the team this summer.
Add Anthony Davis to the mix and you create a winning atmosphere that not a lot of players would be able to turn down.
His incredible ability to score in the paint, as well as his elite rim protection, renders Davis the perfect player to add to the franchise. He’s a potential future MVP that could take the Raptors to the next level and help raise the first NBA banner in Toronto.