Duke Basketball: An Anthony Davis trade could impact former Blue Devils

The NBA Trade Deadline is approaching and the biggest name on the market, Anthony Davis, could have an impact on former Duke Basketball players if he is traded.

Two weeks before the NBA trade-deadline, New Orleans power forward Anthony Davis requested a trade through his agent, Rich Paul. This will have a huge impact on the NBA when it happens as Davis is the most sought out player on the trade market since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

As the Pelicans field offers for Davis — mostly from the Lakers from everything we have heard — other teams are willing to wait until the off-season to try to make a move.

Because Kyrie Irving and Davis cannot be on the same roster before July 1, due to a contractual clause in the CBA, Boston is one of those teams who will make their offer this summer.

More from Ball Durham

Since this is a Duke Basketball blog, I wanted to write about how this impending blockbuster deal could potentially impact four former Blue Devils.

We’ll begin with Irving. Irving can become a free agent this summer if he declines his 2019-2020 player option — something he is guaranteed to do — and if he decides to leave Boston, there probably won’t be much effect on him when it comes to Anthony Davis.

Irving caused a stir last week when he backtracked on preseason comments that he intended to re-sign with Boston this offseason. Those comments caused some uncertainty about the point guard’s future in Boston but the Celtics remain confident that a deal will get done and Irving will remain with the team long-term.

But, if Irving decides to re-sign with Boston, who has the most to offer in young players and future draft picks in any deal for Davis, that could convince Davis to re-sign with the team after next season when he enters free agency.

Davis recently listed the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers as teams he would be willing to commit long-term with if traded to.

As you notice, Boston is absent from that list. Davis knows he cannot be traded there at this time, but is it possible he isn’t listing them because he wants to be traded right now? That list could change this offseason if he is not traded before the Thursday deadline and Irving re-signs this summer.

We saw a similar situation with Paul George last season. George was traded to Oklahoma City before the season and ended up re-signing after initially listing the Lakers as his preferred destination in free agency. Los Angeles never even got a meeting with George so anything can happen if Davis ends up in Boston.

The only teams on the list that have the assets to make a deal are the Lakers and possibly the Clippers after their trade with the Philadelphia 76ers Tuesday night.

If things go Boston’s way, they will be getting two top players coming off career seasons and still in the prime of their careers.

This would be the best possible outcome for Irving because Davis is a top five player in the league and the rest of the roster will still be talented if a deal is done. Oh, and Brad Stevens will be the coach and if anyone can make Irving and Davis work together, it’s him.

Whatever Irving decides to do will impact his current teammate and former Duke player Jayson Tatum. If he stays then Tatum could be the centerpiece in a deal for Davis

Boston General Manager Danny Ainge has been telling the New Orleans front office to hold off on making a deal because Boston will be willing to meet whatever demands they might ask and Tatum would be the player the Pelicans are most interested in.

New Orleans loves Tatum — and that is pretty evident because New Orleans has not yet agreed to the six player, two first round pick offer from the Lakers — because he has more potential to develop into a franchise player than any player the Lakers have to offer.

Boston plans to pursue Davis regardless of Irving’s free agency plans, according to ESPN’S Adrian Wojnarowski. But would they still be willing to offer Tatum in a deal for Davis if Irving is not on the roster? That is not known at the time but that would be a huge risk for Boston because if Irving bolts, then it’s less likely that Davis would commit long-term with the Celtics.

If Tatum is eventually dealt to New Orleans, he will immediately become the face of the franchise next to Jrue Holiday and will have every chance to become the franchise forward that so many think he will become.

The player that has been most affected by all of this is Lakers forward Brandon Ingram.

Ever since LeBron James decided to sign with Los Angeles, there has been speculation whether or not the team would trade its young players for another superstar player. That time has come and Ingram has been in every proposed deal the Lakers have offered the Pelicans.

The Lakers have pulled out of talks, for now, due to “outrageous and unrealistic” demands, the L.A. Times reported, so he is safe for now.

Ingram has been playing better recently with James not in the lineup — 19 PPG, 6 RPG and 4 APG in 18 games without James — so a change of scenery could be a good thing for Ingram, as New Orleans would be a fresh start where he doesn’t have to be worried about if he’s going to be traded or not and could just play basketball.

If the Lakers are unable to land Davis they will be in good hands for the future. They will still have the best player in the world, a promising young core, about $37 million in cap space and all of their draft picks.

The last former Duke player that this could potentially affect is current Blue Devil Zion Williamson.

Another reason that the Pelicans could wait until the offseason to make a deal is to see who gets the number one pick. The New York Knicks are currently in the bottom three of the standings and will have a 14 percent chance of winning the lottery if it remains that way.

New York is on the list of teams Davis said he would be willing to commit long-term with, so New Orleans could wait and see if they get the number one pick. This would be unlikely to happen because if the Knicks plan on signing Irving and Kevin Durant, it would be tough to fit another max contract on the roster without it having a huge impact on the rest of the roster, although it could be done.

Williamson would be a better fit financially because he will be on his rookie contract over the next four seasons and that will give the Knicks more flexibility to fill out its roster with better players next to Irving and Durant.

No matter when this trade happens, not only is it going to have a huge impact on former Duke players, its going to have a huge impact on the entire NBA.

Home/Blue Devils in the NBA