We are officially now in phase two of the Anthony Davis Trade Situation. The first phase was actually pretty simple despite the long lead-up: Davis requested a trade to a contender on Monday after over a year of speculation that he would not stay in New Orleans past his current deal.
Now that we know Davis has been declared on the market, the suitors line up. Well, at least reports about the suitors leak to the press and everyone not working for an NBA team can get a sense of how these suitors are virtually lining up. That happened shortly after the initial story about Davis’ request came in, as Yahoo’s Chris Haynes wrote about some potential teams interested in Davis.
With a year left on his contract before potential free agency, Davis is a very intriguing case for a number of teams. The Lakers and the Celtics are easy favorites to land Davis, but things are complicated in Boston and Los Angeles may not have much of a package it can offer New Orleans. Another team with some significant, at least in theory, potential to land Davis is the Philadelphia 76ers, who have a number of young players they could move and a growing sense that the team needs to make a push right now.
But according to Haynes, the Sixers aren’t looking at a deal for Davis right now.
Philadelphia, which could put together a fairly competitive offer for Davis, currently has no plans to pursue a deal, sources said. Rich Paul of Klutch Sports represents Davis and Ben Simmons and a deal centered on swapping his clients is highly unlikely.
Not pursuing a deal for Davis is perhaps less about what he’s worth and more that the Sixers like what they currently have. Any team with Jimmy Butler on it could be described as “volatile” but if the Sixers do feel Butler is looking to stay in Philadelphia long-term and it can work with he and Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, standing pat may be the best move in the franchise’s eye.
Consider this more of a referendum on what Simmons can be rather than what Davis is. It’s clear he’s going to fetch a high price from someone, and New Orleans certainly wants a big piece in return to help reboot the franchise. But it seems, at least right now, that the player to do it in NOLA will not be Simmons.
