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Anthony Davis Rumors: Warriors' Interest in Pelicans Star Remains After Ring
June 11, 2018
The Golden State Warriors haven't given up their dream of adding Anthony Davis—they're just not as all in as they used to be.
Tim Kawakami of The Athletic reported Warriors ownership remains interested in acquiring Davis but has become more focused on retaining their current core after winning a second straight championship.
Kawakami added that the team is focused on signing Klay Thompson and Draymond Green to contract extensions, though neither player has a financial incentive to do so.
Because of the constraints placed on extensions, Thompson and Green would stand to make $80-plus million more by becoming unrestricted free agents. The Warriors can only offer Thompson $102 million over four years with an extension. Thompson could make upward of $180 million over a five-year contract if he waits an additional year.
Green is in a similar situation, though his contract runs through 2019-20. The Warriors are confined to only giving both players raises that use their current deals as a financial baseline. They would be eligible for a max of 30 percent of the salary cap once they become free agents.
Kevin Durant sacrificed nearly $10 million to stick with the Warriors last summer, but these extensions would require almost unheard of financial sacrifices.
Davis, on the other hand, seems like a pipe dream. The New Orleans Pelicans made the second round of the playoffs in 2018 and could re-sign DeMarcus Cousins to a new contract this offseason. Cousins is recovering from a ruptured Achilles and was not even around for New Orleans' playoff run.
The Pelicans have done a poor job of surrounding Davis with talent, but they're trending upward. The odds he forces himself out seem remote in the immediate future, and he is under contract through the 2020-21 season.