The Warriors’ trade proposal lands Anthony Davis in a blockbuster deal with the Mavericks

Circumstances become dire for Golden State Warriors. He will be without Stephen Curry for at least one more game, and to make matters worse, Jimmy Butler had to go out early during their 124-112 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night. The Warriors are now 11-11 on the season, and looked as far from the team that created opponents after the Butler trade in February until Curry injured his hamstring in the second round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

For starters, the Warriors’ offense is dismal, and it’s a troubling sight to see the Curry-led offense putting up poor numbers. On the season, the Dubs are ranked 23rd in offensive rating, allowing just 112.9 points per 100 possessions, and it’s their seventh-ranked defense that keeps them afloat.

The Warriors team is old, and the difference between them and a dying Los Angeles Clippers team that recently sent Chris Paul home the bombshell move is that they actually have some young players worth playing heavy minutes. But the likes of Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski just haven’t progressed far enough to the point where the Dubs can pass the mantle from the old guard to the young guns.

Could this lead to a desperate move for the Warriors? Maybe. But it is worth noting that the Oaks are not moving out of panic. They stayed the course after the 2020-21 season, and it led to the title. They bided their time in trading for Butler. They remained steadfast in obtaining the highest possible value for Kuminga.

Regardless, if the losses continue to pile up, the Warriors may be forced to pull off a blockbuster trade — perhaps even for Anthony Davis.

Warriors shock world, trade for Anthony Davis

Warriors trade: Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield, Guy Santos, 2028 GSV first round pick, 2032 GSV first round pick

Mavericks trade: Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell

One would think that the last thing the Warriors would need moving forward is another injury-prone old player. The Dubs are trending decrepit as they are, and acquiring Davis would add to the consternation that comes with dealing with the health status of multiple 30-plus guys who are expected to play key roles on a struggling team.

Not that the Warriors need what Davis primarily brings to the table, which is interior defense. The Dubs rank in the top 10 in defense, and with some absences like Al Horford and Green. If there’s one thing head coach Steve Kerr can get out of his roster, it’s an above-average defense.

But the Dubs need to make life easier for their perimeter shooters. They rely so much on movement and floor spacing to create buckets that sometimes it can be hard to watch when the shot isn’t falling.

The Dubs rank one in the NBA in percentage of points scored from beyond the arc, at 41.8 percent. They rank dead last in the NBA in percentage of points scored in the paint. This just puts too much pressure on their shooters to create every night, and as everyone in the league knows, shooting is the most volatile part of the game.

Acquiring Davis would help a lot in that regard. Davis is an easy bucket center on the interior, and he will feast on how many talented snipers the Warriors have at their disposal. He’s no Draymond in terms of all-around defensive mobility, but he’s a better rim protector and they’re not even in the same conversation as shooters.

However, this trade would require the Warriors to sacrifice another component their dynasties. Green, for what it’s worth, almost embodies the Dubs’ DNA as much as Curry. They wouldn’t have accomplished nearly half of what they did if it weren’t for Green’s Swiss Army Knife contributions on both ends of the floor. He will also have a significant playmaking punch with Davis taking Green’s spot in the middle.

All of this just goes to show that there is no likely scenario in which the Warriors could trade for Davis, at least not with a package that would entice the Mavericks. After all, the Mavs traded Luka Doncic specifically to get Davis, and they aren’t just going to let him go for spare parts, even if there is a new brain trust running the team.

Changing Kuminga in the deal is also the bare minimum. A trade involving him seems inevitable anyway, so the Warriors could come up with a trade that brings back a legitimate superstar like Davis in offloading the seventh pick in the 2021 NBA draft.

Kuminga just never fit into the Warriors’ system, and at some point, you are what you are. As much as Kuminga would accept to do the dirty work on the glass and on defense, his true style of play – an isolation shooter who thrives with the ball in his hands – always comes out on top.

Losing Hield won’t be good for morale, as he and Butler have combined to produce a lot of tricks in the short time they’ve been on the roster together. The spacing he provides will also be missed. But when given the choice between keeping Hield or Moses Moody, it will always be Hield who gives up. The Dubs need to keep at least one or two of their key young guys.

But at the end of the day, this package won’t be nearly enough to entice the Mavericks. A 2032 first-round pick could be nice, but the Mavs will be looking for a blue-chip prospect, a contributing veteran and a bunch of first-round picks in any Davis trade scenario. At this point, the They are hindered by the cap and draft situation from the respective trading partner.

The Dubs are better off looking for a trade centered around Cummings when he becomes eligible for a trade on January 15th. Perhaps Kuminga could be the centerpiece of a deal that brings back someone like New Orleans Pelicans wing Trey Murphy instead.