With Anthony Davis making it clear he wants out of New Orleans, and the Knicks having the assets to pull off a trade before the Feb. 7 deadline, there's a buzz in the city that the star forward could maybe come to New York.
Even though the Pelicans could wait until after the season to make a deal, here are five possible Davis trades involving the Knicks (although he doesn't end up in New York in one of them).
TRADE 1: KNICKS AND PELICANS
- Knicks get... Anthony Davis
- Pelicans get... Enes Kanter, Kristaps Porzingis, Frank Ntilikina, 2019 first-round pick
WHY IT WORKS
- Knicks land their main prize in Davis.
- Pelicans get a young star in Porzingis.
- Pelicans get a 2019 first-round pick, but it's likely that it falls outside the top 5 overall since adding Davis would make the Knicks win more games.
- Pelicans get a recent first-round pick in Ntilikina who is a prime defensive asset, and at just 20 years old still has potential for offensive improvement.
- Pelicans get an expiring contract in Kanter who makes the money work to facilitate the trade but is immediately off New Orleans' books after this season.
TRADE 2: KNICKS AND PELICANS
- Knicks get... Anthony Davis
- Pelicans get... Enes Kanter, Frank Ntilikina, Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson, 2019 first-round pick, 2021 first-round pick
WHY IT WORKS
- Knicks land the main prize in Anthony Davis but are able to retain Porzingis and create a twin towers front court.
- Pelicans get the Knicks' two most recent first-round picks, the highly regarded 19-year-old Knox, and the still just 20-year-old Ntilikina, as well as a promising younger center in Robinson, who is on a very team-friendly deal.
- Pelicans get two first-round picks in 2019 and 2021 (NBA rules prohibit trading consecutive first-rounders), though the 2019 pick is likely to fall outside the top 5 overall since adding Davis would make the Knicks win more games.
- Pelicans get an expiring contract in Kanter, who makes the money work to facilitate the trade but is immediately off New Orleans' books after this season.
TRADE 3: KNICKS AND PELICANS
- Knicks get... Anthony Davis
- Pelicans get... Enes Kanter, Frank Ntilkina, 2019 first-round pick, 2021 first-round pick, 2023 first-round pick
WHY IT WORKS
- Knicks land the main prize in Anthony Davis, but are able to retain Porzingis and create a twin towers front court.
- Pelicans get three first-round picks in 2019, 2021 and 2023 (NBA rules prohibit trading consecutive first-rounders), though the 2019 pick is likely to fall outside the top 5 overall since adding Davis would make the Knicks win more games.
- Pelicans get a recent first-round pick in Ntilikina who is a prime defensive asset and at just 20 years old still has potential for offensive improvement.
- Pelicans get an expiring contract in Kanter who makes the money work to facilitate the trade but is immediately off New Orleans' books after this season.
TRADE 4: KNICKS, SIXERS AND PELICANS
- Knicks get... Anthony Davis
- Sixers get... Jrue Holiday
- Pelicans get... Wilson Chandler, Enes Kanter, Markelle Fultz, Kevin Knox, Sixers' 2019 first-round pick (via Sacramento), Knicks' 2019 first-round pick; Knicks' 2021 first-round pick, Sixers' 2019 second-round pick
WHY IT WORKS
- Knicks get the main prize in Davis, but are able to retain Porzingis and create a twin towers front court.
- Pelicans get highly regarded 19-year-old Knox, as well as a dice roll on Fultz hoping that a change of scenery can resurrect the No. 1 overall pick from the 2017 NBA Draft.
- Pelicans also get three first-round picks, two from the Knicks (2019, 2021) and the 2019 Kings pick via the Sixers, as well as the Bulls' 2019 second-rounder, which will be so high that it's essentially a late first-round pick but with less guaranteed money so less risk (an asset NBA teams increasingly covet).
- Pelicans get expiring contracts in Kanter and Chandler, who make the money work to facilitate the trade but immediately come off New Orleans' books after this season.
- Sixers get a great defender and add needed shooting in Holiday, who plays well off the ball so he fits with ball-dominant, non-shooting PG in Ben Simmons and greatly improves their title chances over the next few seasons.
TRADE 5: KNICKS, LAKERS AND PELICANS
- Knicks get... Lance Stephenson, Lonzo Ball, Kenrich Williams
- Lakers get... Anthony Davis
- Pelicans get... Michael Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., Brandon Ingram, Frank Ntilikina, Knicks' 2020 first-round pick, Lakers' 2019 first-round pick, Lakers' 2021 first-round pick
WHY IT WORKS
- Knicks don't land Davis here, but they get a PG upgrade by turning Ntilikina into Ball; they retain the 2019 pick (which still has a chance to be No. 1 overall since they aren't landing the generational talent in Davis); they get off Hardaway Jr.'s contract which is a must to clear cap space to give them the room for two max free agents this summer (Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving/Kemba Walker); they keep Knox and Porzingis.
- Lakers land the main prize in Davis.
- Pelicans get the best young asset in Ingram, as well as another good wing in Hardaway Jr. and the upside of 20-year-old Ntilikina.
- Pelicans get three first-round picks, one from the Knicks (2020) and two from the Lakers (2019 and 2021).