- 6 weeks ago
Rumors are swirling of Anthony Davis being on the move to Golden State. How can this deal make sense for the Wizards.
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00:00But we'll get to that at 3.
00:01I actually want to start with the Anthony Davis news today
00:04that the stars are starting to align
00:07for the Golden State Warriors to trade for Davis.
00:10We've known they were interested.
00:11You started to hear the rumblings that they want to bring in LeBron
00:15to play with his longtime BFF totes,
00:19Steph Curry, and maybe equally because of clutch sports
00:23and that whole relationship, Draymond Green.
00:27So they're going to put their end-of-career Avengers together
00:30like the Lakers did when it was like Karl Malone.
00:33Gary Payton.
00:34Of course they do.
00:35That was a wacky Avengers.
00:37Good for them for trying.
00:38Do what you want.
00:39The Warriors are trying to do that.
00:41With Draymond and Steph and LeBron
00:43and the fourth linchpin piece is that LeBron wants to be back with AD.
00:47We won a title with in Los Angeles.
00:50Here's the problem with that.
00:52How does that help me?
00:54I still have a say in all of this.
00:57I'm not here to be your farm system.
00:58I get what the Warriors want to do.
01:00I know what LeBron and Rich Paul and clutch sports.
01:03I get it.
01:04I know what they're trying to assemble, and that's cool.
01:07Good for you.
01:08Have a blast.
01:08Enjoy yourselves.
01:09Draymond Green, because they're pulling the strings.
01:12The puppeteering is ongoing here where it's like everyone said
01:16he was going to get this contract from the Warriors
01:18that he just decided he's not going to get now to save some money
01:21so they can go get Anthony Davis.
01:22It's cool that they are dialing it all up.
01:25The plan is in play.
01:26Anthony Davis is mine.
01:28I traded for him.
01:29I need to get something back, and that is my frustration in all of this.
01:33What about me?
01:34And I don't mean Grant Paulson.
01:35I mean the Wizards.
01:36But kind of.
01:36And this is always my thing when it comes to the NBA in general.
01:42Again, a lot of this is sort of the more modern version of the offseason drama.
01:45Even in-season now bleeds into offseason.
01:47People are more concerned about player movement and agitating for trades
01:50and stuff than the actual game of basketball.
01:52We were reminded with the finals and the Western Conference finals,
01:55oh yeah, when the basketball actually happens, it can be pretty great.
01:57This is now the business of things.
02:00I'm not here to be cannon fodder anymore.
02:02There are teams.
02:03The Kings.
02:04The Grizzlies.
02:04The Wizards.
02:05The name that group of Jags that are just sort of like,
02:08if you dain us worthy, we shall accept your hot garbage and be a refuse place
02:13so that thou might ascend to mighty glory.
02:17No more.
02:17Contender now.
02:18I'm here to win things.
02:20I'm not here to be the W on your schedule.
02:22I'm no longer a pushover.
02:24New Orleans was forced to do this years ago when Anthony Davis was like,
02:27I signed my deal.
02:28Trade me to the Lakers.
02:29And there was one place he was going to go.
02:30They put up a fight for a while, but then he went to the Lakers.
02:32I'm not here to do that.
02:34It's got to be worth it.
02:35I'll do it.
02:35I'll make a trade.
02:36But you need to switch in the pot for me.
02:38Yeah, the super plugged in NBA diehard might be able to make the case to me
02:43that it's more perception than reality that the sport is just an opportunity
02:51for the really good teams to call the shots and the lesser teams have to just
02:54kind of do whatever the agents and the star players want them to do.
02:58But that's how it feels constantly.
03:02And that's what's happening in front of our eyes,
03:04depending on what the Wizards get back.
03:06But I've got to say, Michael Winger, Will Dawkins,
03:08who have done such a good job throughout this entire buildup for the Wizards,
03:12I don't know what would lead to them trading him to the Warriors right now
03:20unless they're getting a third team involved.
03:22They have to get a third team involved here.
03:24The Warriors don't have what I want.
03:27People keep tweeting me.
03:28I'm at Grant Paulson, by the way, on Twitter.
03:31And they're saying, oh, we'll get Yaxel Lindenberg,
03:34who they just drafted outside of the top ten.
03:36No, you won't.
03:36I don't think you will.
03:37You're not getting Yaxel in an Anthony Davis trade.
03:39You got Anthony Davis for almost nothing.
03:41He has very, very little value.
03:42But to get him, if you're desperate to put this team together,
03:47you should be able to get at least back,
03:49in terms of draft pick competition, pick swaps, whatever,
03:52what you gave up for him.
03:53Why would his value have fallen since you went and got him?
03:57That's the problem I have, Danny, right now,
04:00is if I'm the Wizards or a Wizards fan like you and I are,
04:03they traded five picks for this guy,
04:06two late first-rounders in three seconds,
04:08and about $40 million in expiring salary to go get Anthony Davis.
04:13Two years left on his deal.
04:15Now he's a year closer to free agency,
04:17which theoretically is more valuable because it's an expiring contract,
04:20and teams jump at those.
04:22You're going to trade him four months later
04:24for $57 million in inspiring money from Jimmy Butler,
04:27who I don't want anything to do with,
04:28and one first-round pick back from the Warriors?
04:31No way.
04:32I'm not doing that.
04:33My bar is two ones and some pick swaps,
04:36and you need to go find a third team
04:37or else don't call me back.
04:38Yeah, so the Warriors, as I understand it,
04:40have some future draft capital that they could use,
04:43and for the Warriors' respect,
04:44just to offer that for a second,
04:47I wouldn't do this, to be honest with you,
04:49because with all due respect to Steph Curry,
04:51who I think now is probably a top-ten player of all time,
04:54the window to do this was a couple years ago.
04:56They, with him as their best player
04:58and a group of aging veterans
04:59and some kids that haven't really come along,
05:00were in the 9-10 playing game.
05:02Guy, LeBron wants it, then it's done.
05:05Well, you and I both know that.
05:05He's coming there, and he says,
05:07this is the move I need,
05:08and Rich Paul's doing his little,
05:10whatever, you know, agent running everything.
05:12He's like Boris on steroids.
05:14If Scott Boris had the ability to run teams, basically,
05:17like, we don't see this in any other sport,
05:19but then it's just going to happen.
05:21I agree with you.
05:22It doesn't make a lot of sense.
05:23Now, if, yeah, so the, in order to do that,
05:26this maneuver, if it is real, by the way,
05:28I still don't know that it all is.
05:30I think this could just be just,
05:32let's agitate enough,
05:33let's put a few things out there pressure-wise,
05:35so LeBron gets a sweetheart deal to go back to L.A.
05:37to keep any kind of production company crap going,
05:39or whatever it is.
05:40I have no idea.
05:41But let's say you take it at face value.
05:43For the Warriors, if it's a,
05:45the ultimate win-now move to go with a bunch of guys,
05:47either 40 or close to it,
05:49or an aging, often-injured veteran like Anthony Davis,
05:52you're going to give up future picks.
05:54Like, that's how you would do this,
05:55to position yourself.
05:57And if you're the Wizards, you go,
05:58when this comes crashing down,
06:00and you believe that it will in a couple of years,
06:03and they're terrible,
06:04those future picks might actually be worth an awful lot,
06:06especially kind of given the new system,
06:08where if you were one of the bad but not abominable teams,
06:12you've got as good a shot at the top of the lottery as anybody.
06:14So all of a sudden, that becomes a bit more enticing
06:17if you're willing to play the long game.
06:18You take on Jimmy Butler's terrible deal
06:20for a guy that probably will never play for you,
06:22and it's the same kind of moving chess piece
06:25that a Davis deal would be.
06:27I would assume if they trade for Jimmy Butler's expiring contract,
06:31Butler would never play here.
06:33Just the timetable and...
06:35A buyout would be my preference,
06:37just so that it's not even a lingering thing
06:40hanging over the team for an extended period of time.
06:42But I guess it's possible he could just be rehabbing wherever
06:45when he's eventually ready,
06:46because I think it's midway through the season,
06:48the expectation before he comes back from a serious injury.
06:52Then you could flip him to a contender
06:54because they'll want the expiring deal
06:56if they have the cap space,
06:57and they might be able to get something for him
06:58as they buy for the postseason or whatever.
07:00I'm not sure.
07:01But I don't see Jimmy Butler as a fit in any way
07:04for what's going on here.
07:05In fact, I think it would be...
07:06Not that he's a bad player,
07:07but I think you've kind of lined things up
07:10for some kids to get some run here,
07:11and at positions where he would help you,
07:14you've got options that you like.
07:16So a guy like Jimmy Butler coming in here
07:19to play with A.J. DeBonson,
07:20Kashawn George, and Will Riley,
07:23the group that they've assembled,
07:24Trey Johnson trying to get touches on the perimeter,
07:27it's not that interesting to me.
07:29So it's the only way this deal works.
07:31I mean, it is almost a formality, I would think,
07:33if you're trading Anthony Davis to the Warriors.
07:35Butler, because of the $57 million...
07:38Has to make the salary work.
07:39...just to make the money work.
07:41But that doesn't mean he'd have to play here.
07:42We've seen that over the years.
07:44Remember Mike Bibby's time with the Wizards?
07:46That was always...
07:46What was his favorite moment?
07:47Your favorite moment of his?
07:48I never saw him at the arena.
07:50Yeah.
07:51Did he ever show?
07:52But that's one of those NBA things that could happen.
07:54But I'd be curious to see what people think about
07:56whether or not the Wizards could benefit from this.
08:00I've actually been on board with trading Anthony Davis
08:02all along, as you know.
08:03I think this is the right play,
08:05and I thought he was going to be traded all along.
08:08But this Warriors thing,
08:09when you start to get Draymond and LeBron
08:12and Rich Paul involved,
08:14it worries me that you're just going to end up being
08:17the chess piece.
08:18Yeah, you're pressured.
08:19You just have to like,
08:20oh, well, okay, I guess.
08:21I'm sorry, Mr. Davis.
08:23Here you go.
08:23I just gave up five picks for this guy.
08:26To give you an idea of the phenomenon Grant's talking about,
08:29I yelled this a couple years ago.
08:31Nobody cared about it, of course,
08:32because no one was interested in the Wizards
08:33and the NBA at large.
08:34When it was just sort of declared,
08:36how much power Clutch Sports,
08:38Rich Paul, LeBron, and everybody wields.
08:40When it was just sort of declared,
08:42Bronny James is going to the Lakers
08:44in an open draft situation.
08:47If you knew that,
08:48why in the world wouldn't some team go,
08:51if you're that desperate for him,
08:53for father and son to play together,
08:54I'll take him.
08:55What are you going to give me?
08:56Right.
08:57No one did that.
08:57Everyone just said,
08:58oh, yeah, right away, Mr. James, of course.
09:00We should have been drafting him,
09:01even though he's gameless.
09:03It didn't matter to anybody.
09:04We'll take some dude from Europe
09:06and do a draft and follow
09:08and keep his rights for seven years
09:09while he plays in the Yugoslavian League
09:11or whatever the hell.
09:12Nobody cared.
09:13That's the amount of power
09:14where it's,
09:15no one touched that guy.
09:16Okay.
09:16So this gimmick story that had to play out,
09:19we'll just do this out of courtesy
09:20to Rich Paul and LeBron James
09:22because you don't want to run afoul of them
09:23because then you can't be involved
09:25in the next cool trade.
09:26That's the amount of power
09:27that these guys wield.
09:28Bill just sent me this at Grant Pulse
09:30and he says,
09:30well, you're going to get out of signing Davis
09:32to the max deal he's asking for.
09:33You get out of an expiring contract
09:35and Butler,
09:36do you really want to pay a guy
09:3770 million
09:38who's going to play 40 to 50 games?
09:40No.
09:41See, this is the larger point.
09:43I'm never paying Anthony Davis
09:45an extension at some max contract.
09:48That's the number one priority.
09:49It's why I prefer to trade him.
09:51What I'm saying is
09:52I need to get close to 100 cents on the dollar.
09:55Again, he's a year closer to,
09:57he's an expiring contract essentially now.
09:59His value, if anything,
10:00should have gone up.
10:01He's healthier than when they acquired him.
10:03They acquired a guy
10:04that couldn't play at that moment.
10:05He can now immediately play
10:07for your team
10:08and you're getting the expiring deal.
10:10You can negotiate with him
10:11if you'd like to, what have you.
10:12But I need to get back
10:14at least what I gave
10:17to get back less than that.
10:19Again, to acquire him
10:21two late first rounders
10:23and three seconds
10:24and 40 million in expiring salary.
10:26And you think for a million,
10:28for a first round pick
10:29and 57 million of Jimmy Butler,
10:32I'll just say,
10:32man, that's awesome.
10:33Let's do this.
10:34No.
10:35If I'm Winger and Dawkins,
10:36I'm not playing ball on that.
10:38It's a game of the,
10:39you know, those HGTV shows,
10:40flip this house, right?
10:41That's what you're doing
10:42is you went in there
10:43and you bought a distressed asset
10:45that nobody was really that excited about.
10:46You paid a premium for it
10:47and you need to sell it at a profit, right?
10:50That's kind of what you're trying to do.
10:51How about this?
10:52It might look bad.
10:52I at least need to get back now what I gave.
10:55I would even take that,
10:57which is an L when you really look at it
10:58because of all the work you put in.
11:00But yeah, I would like a profit.
11:01That's why I bought the house.
11:02But I need back something equal to what I gave.
11:06And I don't even think
11:06what we're hearing rumblings on is close to that.
11:08It doesn't sound like that.
11:09And that's a good point.
11:10But it's, in other words,
11:11if it's just similar assets,
11:13but different times, right?
11:14Where, just for the sake of argument,
11:16if you line up when the picks occurred,
11:17if it's now we're layered into 2028
11:20and 2029 and 2030 with extra picks,
11:23maybe when the bottom falls out in Golden State,
11:25maybe that makes more sense
11:25in terms of practical usage
11:27as to how you're building a team
11:28when some of the contracts
11:29of these young guys are up
11:30and you're deciding,
11:31keep, move, free agency, whatever.
11:33The point is, that's really what this is.
11:35So to me, I'm going,
11:36how do I move Anthony Davis
11:39at the utmost profit to me?
11:41And my MO has always been
11:42the C.J. McCollum method.
11:45You play here.
11:46You demonstrate
11:47that you can still be Anthony Davis.
11:49Yeah, play your way out.
11:50Because right now, people aren't sure.
11:52Now, LeBron might be,
11:53and clutch sports might be,
11:53and maybe it's one of those,
11:55God, we're scared you'll never be,
11:56and we might lose on this,
11:57so let's just take what we can get
11:58and cash out now.
11:59But to me, the maximum value
12:01is if Anthony Davis does
12:03Anthony Davis things for a month,
12:05two months, three months, whatever,
12:06now we go to the contender,
12:08now people are willing to go,
12:09yeah, we got a shot at a championship,
12:10we'll pay that premium.
12:12If you think right now
12:13the buy-it-now price on eBay,
12:15so to speak,
12:16will never be exceeded
12:17by him and his play,
12:18I understand making a move,
12:20but I'm with you.
12:20It's got to be richer
12:21than what's being advertised here.
12:23The other part is
12:24you have the leverage of
12:25the player is under contract with you,
12:27and even if he doesn't want to be here,
12:29which he has not said.
12:30He didn't choose to be here.
12:31I think he's made that known.
12:32He is open to the idea,
12:34but he wants to win.
12:35He is as nice as possible,
12:37essentially said he would like
12:38to go in a championship this season,
12:40which means he'd probably prefer
12:41to be somewhere else,
12:42but that's very different
12:42than demanding a trade.
12:44But the words demand a trade
12:46are more powerful in the NBA
12:48than in any other sport.
12:49But I just think there's no rush
12:51and no reason to do this
12:52other than LeBron said so
12:54or Rich Paul wants this,
12:57which supposedly carries a lot of weight.
12:59I saw an NBA reporter
13:00in my timeline today
13:02said something like,
13:03this could go very badly
13:04for Winger and Dawkins
13:05if Anthony Davis and Rich Paul
13:07actually demand a trade.
13:08Then there would be a lot of pressure
13:10on them to get it done.
13:12That's where this sport
13:13is just so much different
13:14because that means nothing
13:16in other sports.
13:16I'm the GM.
13:17This is my team.
13:19You have signed a contract
13:20that I have inherited.
13:21You are on this roster.
13:23And I prefer at some point
13:25to get a deal done.
13:25That's been the prediction all along.
13:27I just need value back.
13:28Yes.
13:28I'm not trying to hold you hostage
13:30if you don't want to be here,
13:31which is different
13:31than what we've heard,
13:32by the way.
13:32We have heard from Michael Winger.
13:34We have heard from Will Dawkins.
13:35He wants to be here.
13:36I don't buy that necessarily,
13:37but I don't think he hates being here.
13:40I don't think he feels
13:41like he has to get out.
13:42That's very different
13:43than wanting to be here.
13:44I don't think he would have signed here.
13:45You traded for his rights.
13:47He didn't choose to come here.
13:48Very different.
13:50But, in fact,
13:51let's play a couple of audio clips
13:52really quickly.
13:54I thought for sure
13:55he was going to get traded.
13:56I kind of thought all along
13:58it was going to happen,
13:58but when John Wall sat down
13:59with the Junk's draft show
14:01that I was on that night
14:02over at the Anthem,
14:03and he basically said
14:04he might get traded tonight,
14:05which we knew wasn't going to happen,
14:06but his prediction was
14:08that he was going to get traded
14:09before the season.
14:09That was telling to me.
14:11I don't believe so.
14:12In my opinion, I don't.
14:13Pause that real quick.
14:14The question he actually was asked is,
14:15will Anthony Davis be on this team
14:17for the first game of the season?
14:18Go ahead.
14:18I don't believe so.
14:20In my opinion, I don't.
14:21So do you think he'll be traded
14:22before the season
14:23or at the deadline?
14:25I think he'll be anything.
14:27Anything's possible.
14:27It could be a trade tonight.
14:28It could be a trade before the deadline.
14:29I think so.
14:30I think at the same time,
14:31he wants an extension.
14:33You know what I mean?
14:33You see trade just get one.
14:34He has two years left,
14:3558 this year, 62 next year,
14:37which is a lot of money.
14:38And you got young guys
14:39that's coming up for contract extension,
14:40a rookie extension.
14:41So I think it's going to be a tough part.
14:43You got to see what happens.
14:44But most importantly,
14:44you got to show that he's healthy
14:46to see if he could be tradable.
14:47That goes back to your point.
14:49Go out, play basketball,
14:50help us a little bit,
14:51and we'll help you.
14:52You play well,
14:53we'll get you out of here
14:54at a decent value.
14:55Yeah, they were very transparent
14:56with McCollum about that.
14:57Michael Winger saying
14:58that Anthony Davis
14:59wants to be a wizard very recently.
15:01My conversations with AD
15:02are delightful.
15:04He's a pro's pro.
15:05He understands who he is
15:06in this league.
15:06He understands the direction
15:07of the league.
15:08He understands what we're
15:08trying to do organizationally.
15:10He's communicated to me
15:11a strong interest
15:12in being part of what we're building.
15:14That's great.
15:15That's great to hear.
15:15It is, of course.
15:17That was Winger with our guy JP
15:18on NBC4 just before the draft.
15:21And then lastly,
15:21here's the general manager,
15:22Will Dawkins.
15:23This was on night two of the draft
15:24when the Wizards were maneuvering
15:26the board in the second round.
15:27Dawkins talking about
15:28the relationship with Anthony Davis.
15:31And with AD again,
15:32he wants to be here.
15:33We want him here.
15:34We'll have that conversation
15:35in the middle of August
15:36when we can officially have that.
15:38But again,
15:38I think we're building something
15:39here in D.C.
15:40where people want to be here
15:41and want to be a part
15:42of the turnaround.
15:42And our fans are behind
15:43the guys that are here
15:44and excited to add A.J.
15:45and everyone that we added
15:47tonight in the draft
15:48in our par as well.
15:50Since then,
15:51the rumblings began
15:52and kind of a fever pitch today
15:54as we find out
15:55that maybe the Warriors
15:56have some plans in the works
15:58to end up bringing Davis in
16:00to play with LeBron,
16:01who they would still have to add,
16:03and Steph Curry.
16:04And a contract
16:07that was supposed to have happened
16:09has not yet as well
16:12that makes everything look like
16:14it's, you know,
16:17in the works, I would say.
16:18I mean, when you have a chance
16:21to get a deal done and don't,
16:23and everyone's going,
16:24well, we heard this was going to happen.
16:25Why is that the case?
16:27It's the money
16:28that they're setting up
16:29for everything, basically,
16:31that was turned down.
16:36This is what happens so often
16:38when you get the
16:38Brian Windhorst of the world,
16:40the Shamses of the world.
16:41I was just thinking about this.
16:42When the horse leaves the barn,
16:44right, where, okay,
16:46the puppeteer behind the scenes
16:47in his very dark room
16:48takes the puff of his cigar
16:49and he goes,
16:52Warriors, make it so.
16:53And everybody has to scurry.
16:55It's sort of like,
16:56it's really hard to advocate
16:58for your own team.
16:59It's really hard to say,
17:00but we'd like to be good too.
17:01We'd like to build something special.
17:03And these guys are too smart
17:04talking about Winger, Dawkins and company.
17:06They understand that.
17:07But at the same time,
17:08it's one of those,
17:09do we not get to do business now
17:11in the future
17:12with any of these clutch sports guys
17:14if we don't just go along
17:15for the ride here?
17:16We're not just a passenger.
17:17That's another tricky part.
17:18I mean,
17:18people talk about this with Boris.
17:20Just never draft a Boris player.
17:21They got a lot of the best players.
17:22Yeah.
17:23And to some extent,
17:24you have to have a relationship
17:25with that agent
17:25so that you can do things
17:27in the future
17:28with their players.
17:29The money I'm talking about,
17:30by the way,
17:3027.7 million.
17:32Draymond Green declined
17:33on an option
17:35to become a free agent.
17:36Sources tell ESPN
17:37the move gives the Warriors
17:38flexibility to pursue LeBron
17:39in free agency
17:40and Anthony Davis via trade
17:41to form their big four.
17:43Everyone thought
17:43he was just going to
17:44take the 27 million.
17:45He's gone.
17:46Now I'll play for way less than that.
17:47Let's get the boys together.
17:48What do you guys think?
17:49800-636-1067.
17:52What
17:53would you
17:55need back?
17:57What would you ask for
17:58from the Warriors
17:59to trade Anthony Davis
18:00and could you get behind
18:01a Davis trade
18:02before he ever plays
18:04a game for the Wizards?
18:06800-636-1067
18:07on GND.
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