If you mention Anthony Davis in any basketball discussion, you're sure to get a mixed bag of reactions. Given that he's become known for being frail, injury-prone, and inactive for many years now, things only got worse when Nico Harrison approved arguably the most shockwave NBA trade in league history last year, swapping Luka Doncic for AD.
Fast forward to not even a year later, and that massive blunder has not paid off in the slightest for the Mavs, with Harrison ousted, Kyrie Irving going down with an ACL tear, and the landscape looking like Dallas will just cut their losses on this oversight and try to recoup whatever they can by flipping Anthony Davis.
With all that being said, it's not that Davis is some absolute black hole if he were rerouted elsewhere. When healthy, we are still talking about an All-NBA and All-Star caliber talent, but whether he can stay healthy remains a high-stakes gamble. Now, it does worry me a little that Toronto's name is being mentioned in the AD talks, and Jordanna Clark of Raptors Rapture has already shared her thoughts on the potential "nightmare" that could arise if this scenario comes to fruition. However, recent insights from NBA insider Jake Fischer have kept the focus on Toronto being a serious contender in the Davis sweepstakes, whether fans like it or not.
Raptors believed to be top suitor in Anthony Davis trade talks
Fischer wrote this on December 16 for Marc Stein's Substack (subscription required): "The teams most interested to date, according to league sources, are Toronto and Atlanta." Much like they were rumored to be going neck-and-neck with Toronto in the Brandon Ingram sweepstakes last season, which the Raptors ultimately won by securing "Notorious B.I.3," the focus returns once more to the Atlanta Hawks.
Toronto holds a significantly better position compared to Atlanta, as Fischer mentions that he has not heard "much optimism at the moment" about Atlanta being able to put together a package that would entice Dallas. As Fischer explained during a Bleacher Report livestream on December 16 (YouTube link here), he noted that the Raptors have an "appetite" for making a blockbuster move. Be that as it may, when it comes to an aging and highly questionable player like Anthony Davis, the conditions before making such a significant move are a matter of serious concern.
"... I'd say most teams that, at least, have like sniffed around on Anthony Davis right now, they really only want to get involved in his trade sweepstakes if there isn't going to be an exorbitant cost ... I don't think there are so many teams that are just itching to trade valuable capital, valuable contracts, valuable players for Anthony Davis, and then pay him another contract extension that's going to award Anthony Davis north of $70 million dollars when he's a 37-year-old player in the NBA. "Jake Fischer on Anthony Davis trade buzz
Is Toronto a favorite in the hypothetical AD sweepstakes? The quick answer there is yes. But as Fischer highlighted, there are still many factors to consider and other key targets to watch, such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, before the Raptors' bold pursuit of Anthony Davis can truly gain momentum.