NBA Rumors: Phoenix Suns Could Offer DeAndre Ayton, T.J. Warren, Josh Jackson & No. 6 Pick For Anthony Davis

When he assumed a front office role, New Orleans Pelicans Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin revealed that he will first try to convince All-Star center Anthony Davis to continue serving as the face of the franchise before engaging in any trade deal. Unfortunately, even though they landed the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Davis looked determined to find his way out of New Orleans.

If they fail to change his mind, the only thing the Pelicans can do is to find the best trade package they can for Anthony Davis. Several NBA teams are expected to join the pursuit of Davis in the 2019 NBA offseason, including the Phoenix Suns. Though the Suns are set to have strong competition from teams like the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, Duane Rankin of Arizona Republic said in an article posted on USA Today that their connection with Griffin might give them a chance of acquiring him next summer.

However, even though David Griffin worked for them for 17 seasons, the Suns will still need to come up with a godfather offer to convince the Pelicans to send Anthony Davis to Phoenix. Rankin suggested that the Suns could offer a trade package including DeAndre Ayton, Josh Jackson, T.J. Warren, and the No. 6 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft to the Pelicans in exchange for Davis. To match the Pelicans’ outgoing salary, the Suns could use Tyler Johnson as a salary cap filler.

“So if the Lakers felt they had to put their young core on the trading block for Davis, the Pelicans would likely ask the Suns to do the same. New Pelicans General Manager David Griffin previously worked for the Suns, but this is a business. Griffin could ask for Warren, Jackson, the No. 6 pick — and Ayton — for Davis. The Suns could throw in Tyler Johnson to help match the salaries as Davis is due $27 million next season and $28.7 million in 2020-21 with a player option in 2020, but Ayton would make it worth it for New Orleans.”

At current cap projections, the Knicks would need to include at least one of R.J. Barrett or Mitchell Robinson in an Anthony Davis trade if they also sign Kevin Durant & Kyrie Irving. A look at some Anthony Davis trade scenarios, with @AlbertNahmad: https://t.co/dooRwaihg5

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) May 22, 2019

Trading former No. 1 overall pick DeAndre Ayton is undeniably a tough decision for the Suns, but it is something that they should consider if it means acquiring a player of Anthony Davis’ caliber. Davis will tremendously boost the Suns’ performance on both ends of the floor. Pairing him with the face of the franchise, Devin Booker, will turn the Suns from one of the worst teams in the league to a legitimate playoff contender in the deep Western Conference.