Colin Cowherd Floats Blockbuster Trade That Would Send Anthony Davis To The Thunder

It’s officially NBA trade speculation season, as the offseason gives teams the opportunities to explore trades that they wouldn’t be able to do during the season. That means that people like Fox Sports personality Colin Cowherd get to throw out crazy trade scenarios.

On Friday, Colin Cowherd floated a proposal that would send Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a blockbuster move. Take a look.

 

This would be a truly monumental trade that would have huge ramifications for both teams and the entire league moving forward.

Let’s face it, the future of the Los Angeles Lakers is in a precarious position. If they don’t win now with their core built around Anthony Davis and LeBron James, there isn’t much in the way of future assets to quickly rebuild. And, with Lebron James turning 40 this season, the odds they win a title soon are pretty slim given the current roster construction.

This trade would completely rejuvenate their future. Jalen Williams established himself as one of the league’s best young players this year. He’s a player who can guard four positions with ease, while being a very good scorer and an excellent shooter. At just 23-years-old, he’s one of the more valuable players in the entire league. And, Wallace, a lottery pick in last year’s draft, looks like a future starting point guard in the NBA after an impressive rookie season backing up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Plus, they get four of the Thunder’s fifteen first-round picks over the next seven years. Obviously, a lot depends on what four first-round picks those are. But, that’s still a lot of first-round picks. It opens up their future tremendously.

As for the Thunder, I think a lot of people would say that this is a lot to give up on the surface. But, I think this trade would be worth it for them.

For a normal team, giving up a young star, a good young role player, and four first-round picks would be a huge price to pay. But, consider those fifteen first-rounders they own in the next few years, many of them pretty valuable. They’re going to have plenty of opportunities to add talented young players in the near future, and they have a bunch of good young players even without those two.

Anthony Davis is a perfect fit, too. The biggest weakness of the Thunder as currently constructed is rebounding. Chet Holmgren is good and will only get better, but his slender frame limits him. And, outside of him, there isn’t another great rebounder on the team that has size. Davis is one of the best rebounders in the league, and averaged 12.5 or more the last two years. Plus, as we all know, he gives elite rim protection, scoring, and can space the floor. He’s a top-ten-or-so player in the league at a position of need.

And, this is a team good enough to win now. The Thunder were 57-25 this year, and they just upgraded this week, trading away young guard Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso, one of the best defensive players in the entire league that makes everyone around him better. If they added Anthony Davis, they would be the favorites in the West, and would retain longterm roster flexibility.

Even though this is just a Colin Cowherd fantasy, it would be a really interesting trade and would definitely shake up the NBA.