Kristaps Porzingis’ latest illness has put the Golden State Warriors in a bind, and it may end up steering them back toward a move they were willing to pass on during the summer: Anthony Davis.
For now, the Warriors are left to deal with uncertainty around Porzingis, who will miss the start of the season. That creates a real problem in the frontcourt, because Golden State had hoped to use him in the kind of 3-and-D center role he fits so well. Instead, they may be staring at a season where their big-man group is built around a 40-year-old Al Horford, with Draymond Green and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg as small-ball alternatives.
That’s not the plan the Warriors wanted. They took a swing on Porzingis by giving him a two-year, $40 million extension just before free agency, and his deal could still carry some trade value later because only $3 million is guaranteed for the second season. But right now, the bigger issue is the one Golden State can’t solve today: nobody knows when Porzingis will be back, and that includes Porzingis and the team.
If that uncertainty lingers, the Warriors may have to look elsewhere, and Davis is one of the names sitting at the top of that list.
Davis has already been linked to the deadline market, especially after contract talks between him and the Washington Wizards were put on hold. Speaking on The Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon made it clear he expects Washington to move him anyway.
“The AD situation, I am an extreme skeptic on. This, hey, we'll talk about it after the season, contractual situation, my BS detector is blaring.
AD without an extension, when you just gave Trae (Young) $213 million is not a great situation. That thing stinks to me.
I will be surprised if Anthony Davis is still in Washington after the trade deadline," MacMahon said.
Davis has his own injury history to consider, but those issues are at least the familiar kind - the sort teams can measure and manage. Porzingis’ situation is murkier, and that’s what makes Golden State’s current predicament so tricky.
The 33-year-old Davis played in three preseason games for Washington, putting up 13.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 blocks in 22 minutes per game.
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