The Trade Deadline revolved around the Anthony Davis trade – no, not that one
A blockbuster trade with shockwaves for miles
When Anthony Davis was first traded, it had a major impact on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
To be clear, the Anthony Davis trade in mind is not the one that just happened, although we will get to that in a moment. We are referring to the original trade, when Davis forced a trade out of New Orleans to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he would team up with ex-Cavalier LeBron James to win the 2020 NBA Finals.
Anthony Davis was traded for a massive package of players and draft picks. That included the No. 4 overall pick, which was one ahead of the Cavaliers’ own pick. In the brief window of time that they held the pick, the Pelicans were often projected to draft Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver or North Carolina’s Coby White.
Instead, they flipped the pick on the eve of the draft to the Atlanta Hawks, who traded up to No. 4 and drafted Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter — essentially swiping him from a Cleveland front office that had zeroed in one Hunter and his defensive versatility. They instead pivoted to Darius Garland — and what a pivot it was, as Garland has been a two-time All-Star and Hunter merely a decent starter. That deal certainly worked out for the Cavaliers.
Things have come full circle now, with the Cavaliers trading for Hunter at this year’s Trade Deadline as what is hopefully the finishing touch on a championship team. Yet that is far from the only trade that happened this year with connections back to that original Anthony Davis deal.
In fact, that 2019 trade, and its immediate shockwaves, essentially defined the Trade Deadline this year.
The Anthony Davis trade defined this year’s Trade Deadline
The obvious support of that statement is that Anthony Davis himself was traded this year in an inexplicable deal for Luka Doncic. The former No. 1 overall pick played six seasons in Los Angeles, winning a championship but also struggling with injuries, and overall his tenure probably felt disappointing given how talented he and LeBron were and are.
