According to Logan Murdock of The Ringer, a small contingent of the Golden State Warriors‘ front office wanted to trade Jimmy Butler to the Washington Wizards for Anthony Davis.
A deal didn’t go down because of Davis’ injury history and desire for a new extension.
It is widely believed in NBA circles that had the Warriors traded for Davis, LeBron James would have signed with Golden State instead of the Philadelphia 76ers.
“So LeBron chose the 76ers, and the Warriors are left to wonder what might have been,” Murdock wrote. “Should they have tried to trade Jimmy Butler and draft picks for Anthony Davis? At summer league in Las Vegas, a small contingent of Golden State’s front office pushed for that path, but AD’s injury history and desire for a new extension ultimately convinced team brass to stay put.”
Butler will make $56.8 million next season in the final year of his contract. He’s recovering from an ACL tear and it’s unknown when he’ll be back.
Meanwhile, Davis will make $58.5 million next season. He’s eligible for a four-year, $275 million contract extension starting on August 6.
Davis and James led the Los Angeles Lakers to the 2020 championship at the Walt Disney World Bubble. The two All-Stars have the same agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group, and are very close friends.
Warriors veteran Draymond Green, who is also represented by Paul and close with James and Davis, declined his $27.7 million player option for next season to give Golden State flexibility to pursue James in free agency and Davis via trade.
However, James signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the 76ers. The Warriors, who haven’t added any new players via free agency or trade this summer, signed Green to a one-year, $27.7 million deal after James joined Philadelphia.
Golden State missed the playoffs this past season. The franchise has won four championships in the Stephen Curry-Green era. However, the Warriors haven’t advanced past the second round of the playoffs since 2022, the year Curry led the team to the championship against the Boston Celtics.
A “Big 4” of James, Davis, Curry and Green would have been fun to watch. James, Davis and Curry were teammates on Team USA in the summer of 2024. USA beat France in the gold medal game and James and Davis played very well off Curry. The Warriors may have been able to compete for the championship next season with James, Curry, Davis and Green leading the way.
Instead, James is on the 76ers, Davis remains on the Wizards (for now) and Curry and the Warriors will run it back with the same roster from last season besides rookie Yaxel Lendeborg.
It will be fascinating to see if the Wizards sign Davis to an extension in August. Washington signed Trae Young to a four-year, $210 million extension in July, so you know Davis will want to get paid as well.
