The Warriors Golden Road to Signing Anthony Davis in 2020
Anthony Davis (AD), his is easily the biggest name floating around that potentially could be moved.
His contract is up in two years (2020). That is, if he opts out of the last year on his contract.
Yes, the talk has already started, “Where is he going to sign?” This is a FANTASTIC question because let’s be real, who the fuck wouldn’t want him? Even the absolutely stacked Golden State Warriors would benefit from having a player like AD. And you can bet that all of them will at least make a play to try and sign him. Bob Meyers, the Warriors General Manager, has made a living signing big free agents (we all know about Kevin Durant).
Look, I’m not a reporter nor do I ever want to be and I do not have any sources whatsoever. This article is not saying “what I’m hearing out of Warriors camp is…”, this is purely speculation and if they do try it well, this is a plan I’ve come up with that could work for them.
Now I’m not saying it will be easy and some people may not like this plan, but in the long run I personally think it will be for the better.
A few things to consider before we jump into this that we need to keep in mind:
first the Warriors payroll going into next offseason will be $120,967,549 as it is now, but only if Durant picks up his option; second the NBA salary cap is expected to go up to $130 million with the cba and tv contract money; third Klay Thompson’s contract is up and he is a free agent; fourth Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and Shaun Livingston will have 1 year left on each of their deals and then they will be a free agents in 2020; fifth and finally the only guaranteed contracts past 2020 are Stephen Curry (signed thru 2022) and Jacob Evans (signed thru 2022 via team options of 2021 & 2022).
Now that all of that is out on the table and we are aware of it, and without further ado let’s dive into this.
Step 1: Let KD Walk
Yes that’s right, let KD (Kevin Durant) walk back into free agency. I know you think I’m crazy but the way I see it is, if you don’t want to be here then leave. After the blowout with Draymond you can tell there has been some hostility and hard feelings in the Warrior locker room. I’m pretty sure KD is not over what Draymond said and it is showing on the court.
KD is a sensitive guy and cares a lot about what the public thinks. He has two championships and two Finals MVPs but he still gets flack from the public about going to The Bay. He hears all of that and I think he wants to make a name for himself somewhere else and start a new chapter.
KD did what he came to do which was win a championship and not only did he do that, but he won two (maybe three). So let him walk where he can go and be irrelevant, like in New York working for the worst owner in all of pro sports. Oh wait, did I also mention this move clears up $30 million in cap space? Yeah, it does and in this league now a days money talks and cap space is GOLD. This move brings their total salary next off season from $120,967,549 down to $90,967,549.
Step 2: Trade Iggy
Andre Iguodala is just getting way too expensive for the production he puts out. Yes he is a great perimeter defender, one of the best in the league, but the fact is he is getting old, slow and can’t score anymore. He is great with the Hamptons 5 lineup because everybody else on the lineup can make buckets, but outside of that it is rough. When he is in with the second unit they always have to leave Klay or KD out there in order to keep up offensive production. That is a liability. He is absolutely not worth the $17 million he is currently getting.
I will admit there is one issue with this move. Who will guard Lebron now? Iggy is arguably one of the best players to ever guard Lebron. I mean honestly who can guard Lebron? The answer is no one, BUT people have slowed him down and Iggy is one of the best. Just look at the three NBA Finals championships they won. Who was the one guarding him? Andre Iguodala. So this will be an issue they will need to address. If they can sign AD though, it will be worth it.
So with Iggy, I say trade him when he has some worth and don’t let him walk. I have an idea on where but let’s hold off on that for now. We will circle back in a little bit.
Step 3: Trade Draymond Green
YES YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY! No typos here people. Trade Draymond. His diva attitude has reached its boiling point. Draymond can’t control his anger and he doesn’t give a damn about how it affects his organization and teammates. The guy is a straight up firecracker that can go off at any moment and that can begin to be a cancer for the team if it hasn’t become so already. This all came to light with the Draymond and KD fight a few weeks ago.
Look, I love Draymond. He is and always will be one of my favorite players but enough is enough. His antics are ruining the greatest run in NBA history and the highlight of my sports fandom life. I would rather part ways with him now then let it go downhill fast and leave on a historically bad note, that will forever be a bruise on this championship stint.
On top of all that he is being paid $18,539,130 next season clearing up a lot of cap space and again, cap space is gold in today’s NBA. Also you should trade him when you can get something out of him rather than just let him walk in two years. So here is the trade I propose:
Warriors trade:
Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala
And the Clippers trade:
Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, and Tyrone Wallace
Personally I think this benefits both teams.
Clippers get two veterans, one star to build the team around moving forward and both of them top tier defenders. The Clippers are looking to spend some money this coming offseason and I think it would be more attractive to guys like Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler if they knew a star like Draymond was already there. If you sign Butler or Kawhi you can probably convince Draymond to resign and stay in LA the following year when he is a free agent.
For the Warriors it clears up some much needed space while adding three solid role players. With losing Andre, the Warriors need a new sixth man. That is where Lou Williams comes in, great bench player, can take up some valuable minutes to rest the starters, and a scorer off the bench which the Dubs desperately need right now. Also, Lou can be a starter if you want him to, with how versatile he is as a SG. Montrezl Harrell can help fill that role that Javale McGee did last year with a big man scoring buckets and protecting the rim off the bench (assuming Jordan Bell becomes the starting Center). With Tyrone Wallace you get a solid defender, solid play maker, and experienced young player to come on as your 8th or 9th guy. He can produce and it also helps that he knows The Bay pretty well (Cal alumni).
I admit you can argue both sides how this may benefit one as oppose the other, but I think when you break down what each team needs this is a fair deal.
All three Clippers sent over are under contract one more year to 2020. Lou Williams is going to make $8 million next year but ONLY $1.5 million the following year. Montrezl Harrell will make $6 million, and Tyrone Wallace will make just over $1.5 million.
This would bring the Warriors salary to $70,831,465 in 2019 and $64,331,465 in 2020 thanks to Lou Williams’ very team friendly contract. That is A LOT to work with.
Step 4: Sign Klay to the max
Klay and Steph are TOGETHER and the foundation of this entire championship team. In my opinion, together they make this team successful both offensively and defensively. Klay’s defense is undeniable and he is THE most underrated defender in the NBA, probably the best defensive two guard in basketball, but somehow has never been on an All NBA Defensive Team.
“Wait what?”, yes this somehow someway, has never happened. He deserves the money just for that alone. We all know what he does offensively (top five all time shooter) so I don’t think I need to go into that.
So basically, sign the guy! His max will probably be around four to five years and about $20 to $25 million, so let’s say for five years he signs for $21 million. This would bring the Warriors to a $91,831,465 salary for 2019, and $85,331,465 in 2020.
Step 5: Sign AD to a long term deal
Okay, so all of this will absolutely be a risk because if they don’t sign AD then it could be all downhill from there BUT, I mean how can you not be intrigued by this team? Playing in Silicon Valley, playing in front of arguably the best crowd in the NBA, and in a BRAND NEW STATE OF THE ART sports arena, probably the greatest indoor sports facility ever built.
AD is projected to sign somewhere around a $35 - $40 million a year max deal for probably five to six years, if he signs with another team rather than extend his current contract. So let’s just say that AD signs a relatively reasonable deal to help the Warriors. For the sake of this article AD opts out of New Orleans and I’ll say he signs a five year $37 million contract in 2020.
This would bring the Warriors salary to $125,331,465 in 2020. Wow, that is a lot of money. But worth it. I know what you are thinking, “Chris, uhh that gives them barley any money to fill out the roster….” yeah, I know and they still need to round out their roster with seven more guys. Well, time to get creative Bob Meyers. A lot of these veteran guys who make $6 to 10 million will be off the books by 2020 so maybe you only resign a few of them (Montrezl Harrell, Kevon Looney, and Shaun Livingston) or just fill out the roster with rookies and guys willing to take the veteran minimum. The thing is, THE WARRIORS CAN AFFORD IT! They are about to move into the most amazing arena in the NBA so money will be flowing in. The team is owned by the richest owner in the league, and the salary cap will continue to go up around $10 million each year. So sign these max deals now while they are affordable(ish). Just pay the max Joe Lacob, just pay it. It will be worth it in the long run when you win three more championships beyond this year, and are the most valuable sports franchise in the world.
Assuming you can sign rookies and veteran minimums, you could round out the rest of this salary to about $135 million give or take, assuming these additional deals will be $500k to $1.5 million contacts. Not much of a luxury tax to pay for what you can get. And by 2020 the cap will be up to an estimated $140 million so you might not even have to pay a luxury tax!
How The Team Plays Now
There is no denying it, without Draymond and Iggy you lose a lot of defense. Like a lot. Draymond arguably the best defensive player in the game and Iggy the “Lebron” defender specialist. BUT you gain another top tier defender in Anthony Davis, arguably another to consider the best defensive player. The guy does it all and on top of that can protect the rim as good as anybody else in the league, even guys like Rudy Gobert. He’s quick on defense, he has great awareness, and can work great in Steve Kerr’s system. He can more or less replace Draymond’s spot on both ends of the court being a great passer and facilitator on the offensive end.
Oh yeah there is offense too. Do we really even need to say it? Steph, Klay and AD on offense, what a show that would be. “Wait, Chris you forgot about KD? Who replaces him?” Well, you could argue Anthony Davis’s game is very similar to KD’s. Actually you know what, I’m gonna say it, Anthony Davis’s game is very similar to KD’s. He can hit those pull up jumpers, shoot three’s when need be (not like he needs to), set and take on the pick and roll, and then that power he has. I mean wow, that post up game is top notch! Personally, I think he brings more strength on the offensive end.
On top of that Lou and Montrezl will score plenty with their valuable minutes along with Shaun Livingston (if they resign him for 2020). Which brings up an important question, what does the starting five look like? Well, this is what I would do if I’m Kerr:
PG - Steph (obviously)
SG - Lou Williams
SF - Klay Thompson
PF - Anthony Davis
C - Damian Jones (assuming he re-signs)
Lou can be a starter for sure. He can create a shot anywhere on the court and can take some offensive heat off of Steph and Klay. Damian Jones has started at C all this year and he can handle that load. Klay would play as a smaller SF for sure but he can handle it and he does regularly in crunch time. Also Klay will have the help of AD down low in the paint. AD can play both PF and C but I think you start the game with him at PF to open him up more as a facilitator to the three small guys.
Here is my crunch time lineup:
PG - Steph
SG - Lou Williams
SF - Klay
PF - Kevon Looney (assuming he resigns)
C - Anthony Davis
With this I think you have a lot of offensive power in Steph, Lou, Klay and AD, so you can afford to play a guy like Kevon Looney to help out on the defensive end. He is quick and has the power to guard the bigger guys. Looney brings versatility on the defensive end and he has been known to come up with some big buckets. Just watch last year’s playoff matchup with Houston. He came in BIG in some big “must score” moments.
So that’s it. That is my plan. Yes you would kind of have to forgo the 2019/2020 season and hope that Steph/Klay and co. can put something together that year. And of course, I’m not saying it would be easy. All these dominos need to fall into place it to work, but I mean think about it, if Meyers could pull this off the Warriors would be SET for the next five years.
But again this is definitely a long shot. And again I am not a reporter so this is not coming for a source or anything this is simply an opinion from a guy who follows the league and is a big fan.
This will be another interesting couple of off seasons coming up and I CAN’T WAIT!