The Golden State Warriors just won their second straight NBA championship - their third title in four years – but it looks like general manager Bob Myers and owner Joe Lacob are already mapping out their next blockbuster move that would keep the Warriors dynasty rolling for the next five to seven years.
In the wake of the Warriors’ total domination of the Cavaliers, Tim Kawakami of the Athletic dropped an earth-shaking report that Golden State is setting their sights on New Orleans Pelicans star, and perennial MVP contender, Anthony Davis, as a potential trade or free agency target down the road.
Kawakami stressed that the Warriors aren’t going to break up their core anytime soon. As a matter of fact, the plan is to lock up back-to-back NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant on a lucrative multi-year deal this summer and then furnish extension offers for both Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.
Extension talks
According to Chris Haynes of ESPN, Green will not sign a contract extension this offseason since he could end up leaving millions on the table if he happened to win an MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, or make it in an All-NBA team next season. Klay’s father, Mychal Thompson, already announced two weeks ago that his son will also not sign an extension this offseason.
REPORT: Draymond Green Expected to Reject Warriors Contract Extension Offer https://t.co/dKKNpABVAe via @12upSport
— Hoops Culture (@Shonen_lord) June 15, 2018
Still, the Warriors' ownership is expected to sit down and talk with its two stars this offseason.
While convincing them to sign a team-friendly extension would be a huge financial win for the organization, Lacob made it clear that they intend to keep their core players, whatever it costs.
"All good things cost a lot. We're going to try to sign Klay and Draymond to extensions this summer. They've earned the right to do whatever they want.
Maybe they want to wait until free agency. I can't control that. But we'll do whatever we can to keep them," the Warriors owner said in an interview with Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
Fox Sports’ "First Things First" panelists Cris Carter and Nick Wright had their chance to discuss the Warriors, and both agreed this team is on par with the best championship teams the NBA has ever seen.
Wright, though, doesn’t agree that the Warriors are now a dynasty since they won their first title without Kevin Durant and back-to-back titles with the superstar won’t qualify them as a dynasty just yet.
The Unibrow trade
Breaking up the four All-Stars might be far off from reality for now, but Kawakami stressed that the Warriors maintain the long view. Once they feel other teams are catching up with them, Myers and Lacob will execute the plan to bring another game-changer onboard. That superstar is none other than Davis, whose contract with the Pelicans expires in 2021.
“It used to be Kevin Durant. Now the Warriors' biggest target is Davis, and they understand that their clearest way to get him was to sacrifice several big parts of their foundation - maybe Klay Thompson and/or Draymond Green - in a trade,” Kawakami writes.
Bleacher Report writer and NBA salary cap expect Eric Pincus explained why acquiring Davis will be tricky for the Warriors. The Pelicans aren’t going to let their best player walk away without receiving significant compensation, so it’s almost guaranteed that either, or both, Thompson and Green, will be involved in that potential blockbuster deal.
https://t.co/Z5z5ZMGIUL via @BleacherReport
— Hoops Culture (@Shonen_lord) June 15, 2018
Golden opportunity or pure gamble?
Stephen Jackson believed it would be a terrible idea if the Warriors make a push for Davis. Jackson, who won his only championship as a member of the San Antonio Spurs, said on Fox Sports “First Things First” that a trade for the Pelicans' superstar would just destroy the winning culture they’ve built over the last four years and compromise the team’s payroll moving forward because of the huge contract Davis would demand.
Meanwhile, on ESPN's “First Take,” Will Cain is singing the same tune as Jackson, arguing that the Warriors would be giving away a lot in the event they trade Thompson and Green for Davis. Cain added Golden State would not have become a dynasty without the sacrifices of their two other stars. On the other hand, Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman are both on board with the Davis to Warriors trade idea.
Kawakami’s report on the Warriors’ interest in Davis is certainly newsworthy. However, there’s nothing new about the Davis to Warriors buzz. Everybody knows that Golden State isn’t the only team gunning for the All-Star big man. As a matter of fact, Anthony Davis is the most-sought player in the NBA other than LeBron James.
He’s a once in a generation talent, a top-five NBA player whose skills-set is perfect for today’s game. No one passes on the opportunity of getting that type of player. Apparently, not even the mighty Warriors would let that chance slip away.