NBA Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz on Anthony Davis and Kyle Korver
The NBA's early-season rumor mill has already ensnared two logical trade targets.
One is a 25-year-old superstar who's either at the height of his powers or still climbing toward it. While it's unclear if or when he'll be made available, he'd obviously have a robust group of suitors coming after him.
The other is a 37-year-old sharpshooter on a team that had great use for him when it was competing for titles, but may no longer have reasons to keep him as it trudges toward a seemingly inevitable rebuild.
We'll examine both situations below.
Potential Anthony Davis Trade Packages Already Forming?
Sorry, New Orleans Pelicans fans, but it seems that no matter what your team or its top talent does, Anthony Davis will remain a primary focus of possible trade poachers.
As ESPN's Brian Windhorst relayed, likely Davis suitors are already planning their course of action if the five-time All-Star declines a contract extension next offseason:
"Davis isn't a free agent until 2020, but some teams already are mulling trade packages if Davis passes on an extension the New Orleans Pelicans can offer him next summer. This is the option that raises goose bumps among a handful of teams that think they might have a chance at landing Davis. The fact that Davis and the Pelicans are off to a fantastic start and that Davis has continued to be outwardly committed to New Orleans has not slowed this one bit."
Foresight is critical for running a successful organization in the Association. That's as true now as it's ever been since the Golden State Warriors seemingly have a stranglehold on this league until proved otherwise.
So, it's little surprise that clubs would plan ahead for Davis—the type of dominant force that could singlehandedly reverse a franchise's fortunes.
The question becomes whether that planning will ever have any purpose.
As Windhorst said, the Pelicans have Davis under control through at least 2020, and perhaps much longer if he inks what will almost assuredly be a supermax offer next summer. They'll likely exhaust every method of trying to keep him before even considering letting him go.
"We wouldn't trade him for anyone," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said, per Andrew Lopez of NOLA.com. "Even Beyonce. I think that makes him untouchable."
If it's possible, that stance has strengthened with the way New Orleans has stampeded out of the gate. The Pelicans are 3-0 with a staggering plus-46 point differential through the early goings.
But, as the adage goes, the regular season is a marathon, not a sprint. And if the wheels ever start coming off, trade vultures will be circling the Big Easy.
It's tough to imagine the Pelicans even contemplating any Davis deal before next summer. But if they can't get his signature on a long-term extension, this situation could get interesting.
And teams will be more than ready if we get to that point.
Cavs Expected To Move Kyle Korver?
The 0-4 Cleveland Cavaliers are staring down the barrel of a rebuild. That seemed likely once LeBron James took his talents to Los Angeles this summer, but it's quickly looking unavoidable.
Just one of the club's four losses has been decided by single digits. The last two defeats have been decided by 38 points and came against the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets—teams that lost a combined 112 games just last season.
Cleveland must embrace a youth movement, probably sooner rather than later. Even though the organization pledged not to "tank" while getting Kevin Love to ink a four-year, $120 million extension, per The Athletic's Joe Vardon, these lopsided losses might be forcing the Cavs' hands.
Should they eventually choose the fire-sale route, it will be interesting to see which veterans are moved.
Vardon reported the Cavs "are widely expected" to move Korver to a shooting-needy contender at some point, though they haven't searched for a deal since camp began. If anyone decided Tristan Thompson was worth a look, Vardon said "the Cavs would probably listen."
One can assume the same likely applies to 32-year-old George Hill and 33-year-old J.R. Smith, who both have only partially guaranteed contracts for 2019-20. Even Love might be vulnerable to a veteran purge.
"Keep an eye on Kevin Love as the potential first major trade chip to be moved in the non-Jimmy Butler category," Tim Bontemps wrote for the Washington Post. "Yes, Love signed a long-term extension with Cleveland this summer. But as Blake Griffin showed last year, that just means he could be more attractive to another team as a trade chip."
Cleveland's roster is an awkward mix of veteran holdovers from the LeBron era and youngsters hoping to help create the next chapter. Should the front office decide it's time to focus on the latter, it could have a busy trade season shipping out multiple members of the former.
