The Anthony Davis trade that would terrify the NBA | Bleacher's report

The saga Anthony Davis has gained momentum Wednesday with the reported interest of the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, according to the same source. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. C & # 39; was news that propelled the pair ahead of the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Blacks in the race to acquire the top five stars of the NBA most immediately available.

These franchises lead a quiet war in the race to acquire a superstar until they can officially start talking with free agents like Kemba Walker, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris at 6pm. June 30th. In addition to assessing the importance of changing Davis' composition, each contender will face uncertainty if he succeeds in capturing the star of the New Orleans Pelicans.

If the Celtics send Jayson Tatum, will Kyrie Irving follow Davis to Boston?

If the Nets change their course, will they win one of the Kyrie or Tobias Harris?

If the Clippers acquire Davis, can they convince Kawhi Leonard to abandon the NBA champions in Toronto?

If the Lakers win the draw, there is no reason to believe that they will be able to add a third star or complete Davis and LeBron James with a talent talent that will take them far in the playoffs.

"It's an organization that is in a win-win mode with LeBron James," said Adrian Wojnarowski on ESPN (h / t Sporting News). "They must find, and most likely via trade, a co-star for LeBron James, because at the moment, they are neither among the first nor among the leading to consider among the free agents of the elite."

Any of these measures could also be catastrophic if Davis were walking next summer.

But there is a franchise that can offer New Orleans the desired talent while retaining a rising star of 24 and a rising star: a team with recent playoff successes, a strong head coach and a front office respected. .

The nuggets of Denver

The point of sale of David Griffin, Executive Vice President of Pelicans Basketball Operations, will begin and end with a comparison between getting rich and now with Toronto's successful bet on Leonard. The Denver Nuggets are in a similar position to the 2017-18 Raptors.

Potential Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers swept Toronto in the second round, after the Raptors won 59 games and secured the first seed in the East last year.

The Nuggets lost to CJ McCollum (37 points) and the third seeded Portland Trail Blazers with just four points in the seventh game after winning 54 victories en route to the No. 2 seed of the conference. West this season.

Unlike these raptors, the Nuggets are at the top of their wave. The core of the training includes young talents: Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Malik Beasley, Monte Morris, Trey Lyles and Michael Porter Jr., both born in 1994 or later and have at least four years of experience. Will Barton (28) and Paul Millsap (34) are the oldest contributors to one of the youngest and most successful teams in the NBA.

The Nuggets will continue to improve, and their current talents should flourish enough to get them past older teams like Portland. But if Denver is looking to accelerate its schedule and engage in next season's championship discussion, Nuggets Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly is expected to trade against Davis.

Leaving aside the success of the Davis playoffs in 2018 – which included four games against the same Blazers who beat the Nuggets in seven games – which made it a ridiculous 30.1 points, 13.4 rebounds and 2 , 3 blocks in nine games, the 26-year-old is the perfect complement to Jokic and a permanent partner in the field.

The facilitating vision and execution of another Jokic world is naturally amenable to Davis' offensive skills, but here is a context before analyzing their adequacy.

In 2017, the Pelicans hired Chris Finch, an assistant coach of the time at Nuggets, to create a new era in New Orleans with an offense based on the philosophy of the point center that he instituted at Denver, making Nuggets the fourth-best NBA attack in 2016-17 with a Jokic-centric outlook.

Finch used this system to give Davis his most effective season. While DeMarcus Cousins ​​commanded the team from the top of the key and post, Davis scored on what would be a career record with 54.1% of his shots and logged on a brutal progression 36.7% compared to three points in 51 games. All-Star Break.

After the break, when Davis joined Emeka Okafor, he fell to the ground and only touched 28.3% of his long-range bombs.

Davis is an offensive ball that needs more help than many NBA members recognize or recognize. He received help on 61.8 percent his two-point shots in 2018-2019 and 100% of his three-point shots, converting only 34.7% of unassisted shots.

In 2017-18 (42 of 75 games with Cousins), without a doubt Davis' most successful season, he was assisted at 70.1% of his goals, scoring only 29.9% of those shots without help.

That's where the Nuggets and Jokic come in. He generates his own offense (48% of unattended conversions) and his 26.5 assist ratio puts him in second place in the NBA's position behind his compatriot. Bulldog, Mason Plumlee (minimum of 70 games played).

Jokic can create open eyes and dictate the offense so that Davis can prosper. The current star of Denver can also punish the big centers of the NBA for which Davis resists. The 6 "10", 253-pound AD can protect rim and use its closing speed and length on the defensive to forgive Jokic's deficiencies there.

And in the pick-and-roll, both would be unstoppable.

Add Davis to Jokic, 24, and Murray, 22, would create a threatening competitor. But how much would it cost the Nuggets to grow quickly?

L & # 39; exchange

Nuggets receive: Anthony Davis, Jahlil Okafor, E & # 39; Twaun Moore

The pelicans receive: Michael Porter Jr., Monte Morris, Malik Beasley, Barton Will, Mason Plumlee and the first round choice of 2021

Building an agreement for Davis around relative unknowns will not seem popular on paper, but let me help you with the help of his Bleacher Report colleague, Adam Fromal:

Morris is the perfect complement to Jrue Holiday's background and the expected # 1 pick, Zion Williamson. He is an expert in fault management and a stable force that will lead the offensive of head coach Alvin Gentry with aplomb.

Beasley is the perfect three-dimensional wing. At 22, Beasley overthrow 40 percent of his three-point shots in 81 games and 17.6 points for 47.4% on the ground every 36 minutes. Beasley is an inexpensive version of Wesley Matthews with sufficient size for the small front (6 "5", 195 lbs).

Barton is a long-range, half-length assassin, able to break the tusks and spread the ground.

Plumlee 's shipment to New Orleans helps him to lose a bit of salary, giving Denver enough space to add to his new group. The Nuggets can also use their Hall exception to complete a list of Murray, Moore, Gary Harris, Torrey Craig, Davis, Jahlil Okafor and Jokic.

However, Morris, Barton and Beasley barely manage to add to the stars. This blue shredder will come in the form of Michael Porter Jr. Pelicans have the freedom to be patient with Porter, who averages 36.2 points and 13.6 rebounds per game while helping his team record a 29-0 record and a class 3A championship in Washington in 2017 as a high school.

"What I've seen from Michael this year in Flashs, is a guy with an incredible size and length, who has a deep reach, who can shoot the ball, who can put it on the ground and who has a lot of athletics to finish at the rim, "Nuggets coach Michael Malone said, according to Mike Singer of Denver Post. "It will be a very big summer for Michael."

If the Nuggets lose interest in Moore and get ready to cherish the space, they can still leave, as his $ 8.7 million expiring contract should make it a valuable asset.

Denver would make an incredible bet by bargaining for Davis, but would win an undeniable talent among the top five that could help form an All-Star trio capable of bringing the team to a title. Adding the sixth-best scorer in the three-point NBA to a minimum of three attempts per game (Moore) and Okafor, who was quietly productive after Davis's January exchange request, would help complete the list. Pelicans should first choose the option of the Okafor team to consolidate the transaction.

Statistics provided by NBA.com and Basketball Reference unless otherwise indicated.