Anthony Davis trade news: New York Knicks to take massive step ahead of NBA draft

Anthony Davis trade news: New York Knicks to take massive step ahead of NBA draft, with the Hawks involved too

For much of this summer the New York Knicks were considered to be among the top teams that could trade for Anthony Davis once Pelicans started receiving offers. The major factor seemingly was Davis’ interest in playing in a big market, with league sources saying he was only interested in signing a long term agreement with the Lakers or the Knicks.

I was never a fan of the deal, given that the Knicks could offer very little of value apart from a 3rd pick in a 1 man draft with some young players that are going to be role players at best, but it now seems the deal for Davis might not be happening.

The Knicks only asset that was better than Lakers or Celtics was a pick in this year’s draft. A number 3 pick that, going by talent, should convert to RJ Barrett. The Lakers can offer Lonzo Ball over Dennis Smith Junior. Kyle Kuzma over Kevin Knox. Brandon Ingram over who?.. Frank Ntilikina? Really? That jump from 4th pick to 3rd pick was worth that much more?

Not to forget the Lakers offered a lot more than these 3 players and this pick during the trade deadline earlier in the season. So it always seemed like the Knicks getting Davis would largely depend on Lakers reducing their offer by a lot, which they are not very likely to do.

The Knicks now may have ruled themselves out of the Anthony Davis sweepstakes as the latest news from NBA sources reveal the Knicks are considering trading the number 3 pick to the Hawks for their 8th and 10th picks.

The Hawks have their own pick and the pick from Dallas at 10, which gives them a good package if they want to move up the draft. Knicks seem to be certain about getting Kevin Durant and want to use the two picks from the Hawks to trade for established players to pair with Durant and his scoring style.

If KD comes and the Knicks are not getting Anthony Davis, then drafting RJ Barrett makes little sense since it will take a couple of years at least for Barrett to develop into a good player, if he does become that, and with KD in the squad, the Knicks can’t wait for that and Barrett anyway prefers playing in a system where he is the number 1 option and that doesn’t fit well with Durant’s style of play.

This is a significant development for the league and especially for the Lakers. The future of Davis might yet go a few ways, but if Kyrie doesn’t sign with the Celtics, they will not leverage their future to get a year of Anthony Davis, leaving Lakers in the pole position to trade for Davis if he decides to leave, which may also now be in doubt given the talks Davis and Pelicans VP David Griffin have held in the past week, although changing his stance still seems unlikely.

A trade between the Knicks and Hawks might be the first domino to fall in a summer that promises to be the most exciting in NBA Free Agency history.