Anthony Davis was shockingly traded on Wednesday to the Washington Wizards, ending a brief and tumultuous time with the Dallas Mavericks. Despite not being a part of the deal, the Toronto Raptors stand out as the big winners -- precisely because they almost traded for Davis themselves.
Rumors have swirled around Davis for weeks, if not longer. The Mavericks had the look of a team ready to pivot into a short-term rebuild around No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg, and yet they refused to make a move, stretching things out. That left Davis, the most obvious trade candidate on the roster, in limbo. Would a contender make a swing for the star? Would a middling team see him as a buy-low opportunity to take a step forward?
Everyone from the Lakers to the Celtics to the Bulls to the Warriors were mentioned as potential trade partners. Yet as each suitor fell away, one team remained in the hunt: the Toronto Raptors.
It has been Toronto's mission this trade deadline to land an upgrade at center. They were linked to Jaren Jackson Jr., to Domantas Sabonis, to Myles Turner. Their biggest swing would have been for Davis, to pair in a high-impact frontcourt with Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram.
Davis and his camp were interested in coming to Toronto as well, for one obvious reason: the Raptors were dumb enough to pay him. They hand out new contracts like Michael Scott promising college tuition to elementary students. By joining the Raptors, an injury-prone Davis could secure his financial future.
The NBA Trade Deadline has been insane this year, and Wednesday was no exception. The Wizards swooping in to trade for Anthony Davis came seemingly out of nowhere. Whether they plan to extend Davis or not, he will be paired with Trae Young on a new-look Wizards team.
The Raptors nearly traded for Anthony Davis
Marc Stein reported on his substack that Toronto had an offer on the table for Davis, one that presumably included Jakob Poeltl and his onerous contract. The Mavericks elected to take Washington's offer instead, preferring expiring money and a worse return of players and picks than the long-term salary needed to trade with the Raptors.
It is hard to call the Mavericks a winner in this trade, as they got two positively terrible first-round picks and a pile of salary flotsam. Davis was the centerpiece of the Luka Doncic trade just one year ago, and now he was effectively salary-dumped on the Wizards. Dallas won nothing this week.
At the same time, can the Wizards be considered a winner here? They gave up their future flexibility to commit to an injury-plagued big man who will turn 33 years old next month, to pair him with a tiny, offense-only point guard in Trae Young. The foundation of a contender, that is not, and it's almost certain that by the time Washington's young core is ready to truly compete, Davis will be past the point of truly helping them win.
That makes the Toronto Raptors the winners of the Anthony Davis trade. Trading for Davis, even if it meant getting off of the contract of Jakob Poeltl, would have been a disaster. He doesn't fit their timeline, he is constantly injured, and he was going to secure a long, expensive new contract. Washington and Dallas just saved the Raptors from themselves.
There were not fireworks thus far in Toronto, but the absence of a big splash may be the best course for this team. They dug themselves into this hole with terrible contract decisions; thankfully, they didn't dig any deeper on Wednesday.
They come out as the clear winners of the Anthony Davis trade.