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LA Clippers: Weighing An Anthony Davis Trade

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 14: New Orleans Pelicans Forward Anthony Davis (23) shoots over Los Angeles Clippers Forward Tobias Harris (34) during a NBA game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Clippers on January 14, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 14: New Orleans Pelicans Forward Anthony Davis (23) shoots over Los Angeles Clippers Forward Tobias Harris (34) during a NBA game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Clippers on January 14, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – DECEMBER 03: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans dunks the ball during the second half against the LA Clippers at the Smoothie King Center on December 3, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – DECEMBER 03: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans dunks the ball during the second half against the LA Clippers at the Smoothie King Center on December 3, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

With the end of the LA Clippers’ ’18-19 season, all eyes have now turned to their lofty offseason ambitions. The team has given themselves a few avenues to the acquisition of star players, but none are more divisive those involving a trade for Pelicans All-Star big man Anthony Davis.

The Anthony Davis/New Orleans Pelicans/Klutch Sports melodrama was one of the more entertaining highlights of this past NBA Season (unless you’re a Pelicans or Lakers fan). The superstar big man and his agency attempting to force their way out of New Orleans, fixated on the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles, only to have it blow up in their face. While the main story around that whole kerfuffle will be that the Lakers attempted (in vain) to put together a ‘Godfather’ offer for the Pelicans, the LA Clippers were another team on Davis’ list of preferred destinations, should his request for a trade be honored by the Pelicans.

For the Clippers to acquire a player of Anthony Davis’ caliber, it truly would demand that they open the war chest to assemble a hefty package of talent and picks. With a more than competent person in David Griffin now running the show, you can be sure that New Orleans will be getting what’s deserved in such a negotiation.

Per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, a potential Davis package would likely include some combination of:

  • The expiring contract of Danilo Gallinari
  • Young talent in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Landry Shamet, or Jerome Robinson
    • Likely Shai and Jerome or Landry and Jerome
  • One or both members of the Lou Williams/Montrezl Harrell duo
  • The future first round picks acquired in the Tobias Harris trade
    • Lottery-protected 2020 Philadelphia pick and unprotected 2021 Miami pick

      • So yeah, trading for Anthony Davis with only a year left on his contract wouldn’t be cheap. It would realistically require the Clippers to part with a considerable portion of their current squad’s core. But, that’s the price for a perennial MVP candidate.

      So, we find ourselves with a tough question to answer. One that the Clippers’ front office could be facing in the next couple of months: Is it worth trading for Anthony Davis, given the cost the Clippers would incur?

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