The Golden State Warriors’ plan to reunite Anthony Davis and LeBron James just took a serious blow.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said Tuesday that he is officially taking the Anthony Davis trade off the front burner. His reasoning is simple. The Washington Wizards are not engaging on a deal, and the Warriors already told Jimmy Butler he is not getting moved.
That combination all but kills the pathway the Warriors were reportedly working. Golden State’s original plan involved sending Butler and salary filler to Washington in a deal centered on Davis. If Butler is off the table on the Warriors’ end and Davis is off the table on the Wizards’ end, there is no obvious version of this trade left standing.
The Wizards’ position makes complete sense. They traded for Davis and Trae Young last season with a specific long-term plan in mind. Young is on a fresh extension. Davis is under contract for two more years at $54 million. Washington also just drafted AJ Dybantsa first overall. They are building around a core and are not in the business of blowing it up before it plays a single game.
For the Warriors, this is a real problem. LeBron James is available, and Golden State believed the Davis reunion angle was their most attractive recruiting pitch. Take that off the table and the pitch gets thinner.
The Warriors can still offer Steph Curry as a co-star, a proven system, and one more championship window. That’s not nothing. But it is a lot less compelling than the “you and AD run it back at Chase Center” version.
Windhorst was careful to leave the door cracked open, noting that his information can change. Trade markets shift daily this time of year. A third team could get involved. The Wizards could get a Godfather offer. All of it is possible, if not particularly likely right now.
Anthony Davis, for what it’s worth, remains a top-15 player when healthy. He averaged over 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards last season, and he was the primary reason they overachieved in a rebuilding year. Any team that wants him will have to overpay, and the Warriors do not have the assets to overpay.
Golden State does have a couple of decent salaries to move. Andrew Wiggins is on the books. Draymond Green just opted out of his deal, which is a whole other storyline. Buddy Hield and a mix of young players could theoretically be packaged. None of it moves the needle for Washington.
The result is that the Warriors are staring at a version of the LeBron chase where they cannot dangle AD. That does not mean they are out of the LeBron sweepstakes, but it does mean the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat suddenly look like more realistic destinations.
For a Golden State front office that has spent the last two offseasons trying to reload around Curry, that is a frustrating place to be. The Davis trade was their swing. That swing just missed.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
