Never Seen Something Spoil So Fast
I read a rumor today that hinted at the idea that Anthony Davis might want to play for the Chicago Bulls. if this rumor had popped up five years ago, I may have crapped myself in excitement. But today I was kind of "meh" about it. Would the Bulls be any closer to a championship with Anthony Davis on their team? Considering I don't ever expect him to play more than 50 games in a year ever again, my answer is... I doubt it.
I have never seen a star fall so fast. Just 9 months ago, Davis was the "price" piece of the worst trade in sports history. I remember thinking at the time that unless Luka Dominic had suffered a career threatening injury, it was the dumbest move I have ever heard of. Now mind you, I think Doncic is overrated. He plays absolutely no defense and slows the ball down on offense. But it doesn't matter what I think. All that matters is what NBA general managers think. And all but one think that Luka Doncic is a franchise player who should be built around. (Well I guess it is all GMs now since the only one who didn't think that was fired this week).
Even if you don't like Doncic, there is no arguing that trading for him should have cost the team their entire future. They should have been forced to trade young players and many draft picks in order to get an All-NBA player. Yet all the Lakers had to give up was Anthony Davis and 1 first round pick. That is simply insane. There isn't a video game that would allow that lopsided trade. I have never seen anything like it.
And now, just nine months later, I find myself asking, 'Would I rather have Nikola Vucevic or Anthony Davis on the Bulls"? And honestly, the answer is Vucevic because at least he would play in all the playoff games if the Bulls were lucky enough to make it. I simply have no reason to believe that Davis will play any playoff games let alone enough to win 16 playoff games.
Looking at the raging dumpster fire that is the Dallas Mavericks, I honestly think all they can hope for with Dvais is to find a team that will take on his enormous $50 million salary for the next three years. The Bulls could actually match his salary by trading Vucevic and two bench players (Zach Collins and Kevin Huerter) but why would they want to? They would be saddled with a huge salary cap number for at most 50 games of production.
So in 9 months, Davis has gone from the "essential piece" of a blockbuster trade to a guy you might have to tie draft picks to in order to move. I honestly have never seen anything like this.
As a surprise to no one, this week, the Dallas Mavericks fired Niko Harrison the guy responsible for the worst trade in sports history. Rumors are still swirling that he did this on orders from owner Patrick Dumont, but that honestly doesn't matter. If you care about your team and your reputation, you simply refuse to be the person who makes the worst trade in sports history. Harrison did not do that. I just hope he got a big enough bonus on the way out to make his being a laughing stock worth it.
As hard as I tried, I simply couldn't find any pictures of Davis actually playing. It is almost as if he is constantly injured...
You'd probably have to go back. To college to find one of those pictures. I remember how big of a deal he was back then. Mostly because of the unibrow!
His first few years in the league, he looked like the real deal. But talent means nothing if you can't stay on the court.
Doncic is an amazing player. He's had his fair share of lack of discipline, but he's a generational talent, and he's even been playing defense since on the Lakers.
AD had a great couple of seasons a few years back when the Lakers won the championship in the bubble, but he's nowhere close to being any dominant anymore. Dallas will look to trade him now, only question is who'd want him and what they'd give up. Can't really imagine he would be of a lot of help for the Bulls, might rather move him to the Hornets or something.
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I get what you’re saying. Anthony Davis used to be such a big name, but all the injuries have really changed how people see him. It’s hard to rely on a player who isn’t always available. I can understand why you’d prefer Vucevic at this point. It’s interesting how fast things can change in the NBA.
The fall of Anthony Davis is truly unbelievable once a player was considered the future of the franchise. But if we want to take him today, the parties will rather be in doubt or not.
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It’s surprising how fast opinions about Anthony Davis have changed. He was a huge name not long ago, but now it feels like people worry more about his injuries than his talent. I agree that the Bulls might be safer sticking with the players who show up every game. Consistency really matters.
It depends, my friend, on what's offered in exchange for Davis. If it's not expensive (draft picks), it would be beneficial for everyone. A change of scenery would do him good, although with his injury history, as you mentioned, it's uncertain.
He's a good player, but his performance has declined significantly in the last year. Perhaps the mental shift affected him, and that doesn't help either. But what's important to highlight are his constant injuries. Furthermore, such a high salary for the next few years (50 million) is a risk very few teams can afford. The Bulls aren't in a position for that; on the contrary, they should try to acquire as many draft picks as possible in the coming years. And I must admit that, in my opinion, Luka Doncic is a lazy player with a tendency to gain weight, but trading him for Davis and only one first-round pick was a poor move. Nico Harrison was a fair trade. The only good thing is waiting to see how their new star player, Cooper Flag, develops.