Could the Toronto Raptors land superstar players in back-to-back years by trading for Anthony Davis months after acquiring Kawhi Leonard?
It doesn't seem all that likely, as it is going to be tough for the Raptors to match offers that some other teams can present, but let's for a second pretend that Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri places a call to New Orleans Pelicans general manager Dell Demps (and he may have already done that).
What do the Raptors have to trade for Davis?
Well, Toronto actually does actually have some decent young pieces. Pascal Siakam has been awesome this year, O.G. Anunoby has solid potential as a three-and-D guy and Norman Powell is a nice bench player who can stroke it from long range:
https://twitter.com/willswims/status/1090320096873062401
Would that be enough, though?
It's hard to imagine the Pelicans biting on this deal for a couple of reasons.
First of all, as nice as Siakam, Anunoby and Powell are as young pieces, none of them have All-Star potential.
Siakam is an incredibly efficient role player who can guard multiple positions, which is great, but that's just it: he's a role player. You absolutely need guys like him, but if you are the Pelicans and Siakam is the main piece coming back in a deal for Davis, you should probably look elsewhere.
Anunoby had a really nice rookie year and showed he was not afraid of the moment in the playoffs, but he has actually been pretty disappointing this season, and it's entirely possible he will be a bench player for the rest of his career. Like Siakam, he can unquestionably provide value for a contender, but as one of the primary young pieces for a rebuilding team? Not so much.
Then you have Powell, who is athletic and can shoot and is a really nice player, but, again, we run into that same “role player” trap that we just discussed with Siakam and Anunoby.
Second, the Pelicans would have no idea how those draft picks would turn out.
What if Leonard and Davis both decide to re-up in Toronto? Then, the Raptors would be a perennial 60-win team, and New Orleans would be left with late first-round draft picks that won't even be worth all that much.
Of course, the Pels can bank on Leonard walking this summer and Davis following suit next year, but what if Kawhi decides to stay? That right there would be enough to tank the draft picks, and if Davis then re-signs as well in 2020, the Pelicans are then between a rock and a hard place.
For so many reasons, the Raptors just do not seem like a probable—or even possible—destination for Davis.
So many things would need to happen for Toronto to acquire him, and one of the main things would be teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and New York Knicks all lowballing the Pelicans for some reason.
New Orleans is unquestionably going to get better offers than what Toronto can serve up. The Lakers have Kyle Kuzma. The Celtics have Jayson Tatum. The Knicks could possibly think about dealing Kristaps Porzingis and they also might end up with the No. 1 overall pick.
All of those pieces trump anything the Raptors can offer as a centerpiece. Siakam is nice, but it doesn't seem very likely that Demps will be falling over himself trying to acquire Siakam for a 25-year-old who may very well be the best power forward since the prime years of Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett.
The Raptors don't really have all that much of a chance to get Anthony Davis, and to be perfectly honest, they may not want to chance it to begin with. If Leonard does end up walking this summer, the chances of Davis staying beyond next year would be slim to none, and then Toronto's cupboard would be completely bare.
The Raps already took one risk by acquiring Leonard. It doesn't seem all that likely that they will take another one. Not that the Pelicans would be all that interested in whatever Toronto has to offer to begin with.
Realistically, unless you are the Lakers, Celtics or the Knicks, your chances of getting Davis don't seem to be that great. I would imagine that a mystery team could swoop in and make things interesting. Maybe the Portland Trail Blazers put C.J. McCollum on the table. However, most likely, one of the teams from the big three cities of Los Angeles, Boston or New York will end up with Davis when it's all said and done.
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