Anthony Davis is still the kind of name that can reshape a season, and the Golden State Warriors continue to look like one of the teams most naturally connected to him.
The big question isn’t whether Davis would draw interest. It’s how his first stretch with the Washington Wizards plays out after 18 months filled with injury concerns, because that early-season form will go a long way toward determining his trade value. If Washington decides not to extend him and instead puts him on the market, Golden State could be sitting in a strong spot.
That was the view on the latest episode of the Third Apron podcast, where Sam Quinn and Yossi Gozlan walked through possible landing spots for Davis during the middle of the upcoming season. They mentioned teams including the Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks, but Gozlan kept coming back to the Warriors as the cleanest fit.
"The one that I thought was the best fit for them last year, and I like them now, were the Warriors," Gozlan said. " But if they're going to continue to run it back with Curry and all these other guys, I kind of like the idea of AD being in the mix there."
Golden State already explored the idea this offseason while chasing former championship teammate LeBron James in free agency, but stepped away because of Davis’ injury history and the possibility of an extension that would have come attached to the move.
Those same concerns still hover over him. Even if Davis stays on the floor consistently for the Wizards in the first half of the season, the injury question isn’t going anywhere. At the same time, if he proves he can stay healthy, that only strengthens the leverage he and agent Rich Paul would have in talks on his next contract.
That’s why Gozlan’s read points to a very specific kind of deal: one where Golden State doesn’t pay a heavy trade price and doesn’t get boxed into a short-term extension that is anywhere near the max.
That framework lines up with how the Warriors have operated in recent years, especially as they move closer to the end of the Stephen Curry era. They haven’t dealt multiple first-round picks in a trade for more than a decade, and they also haven’t handed out long-term max extensions in recent seasons. Their biggest swing came in February last year, when they traded for Jimmy Butler for one first-round pick, the 20th overall selection, and gave him a max contract that ran only two years.
A similar path could still be there for Davis. For now, everything depends on how he, the Wizards and the rest of the league handle what should be a pivotal season.
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