1. The Boston Celtics
The Celtics have been linked to Anthony Davis long before he became available in trade talks. He is Danny Ainge‘s white whale, the ultimate trade target who could help leapfrog them back into title contention. After years of collecting assets and draft picks just waiting for the right player to come along, now is the time to unleash the mother of all trade offers.
Luckily for the Lakers, Boston isn’t able to trade for AD just yet due to the Rose Rule, which states that a team can only trade for one player on a “fifth-year, 30 percent max” rookie extension. That player for the Celtics is Kyrie Irving, someone they’re likely trying to pair with Davis rather than exchange him for.
Once Irving becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, that rule is lifted, giving the Cs the opportunity to offer multiple likely lottery picks and a bevy of young talented players, any combination of which would top whatever L.A. stands to offer, especially if a guy like Jayson Tatum is on the table.
We don’t know whether or not New Orleans is looking to wait until the summer or make a deal now in order to fully shift into tank mode. But if you’re the Lakers, you can’t get cute with trade offers if you truly want AD, because if he’s not in L.A. following the deadline, Boston’s accumulated too many assets to compete with in a trade war this summer, and they’ve been sitting on all of them waiting for a player of Davis’ caliber to become available.