Warriors Eyeing Anthony Davis?

Golden State is also pursuing Wizards big man Anthony Davis in the hopes of reuniting the championship-winning duo in the Bay Area, Kevin O’Connor reports for Yahoo Sports.

Such a deal would require the inclusion of the injured Jimmy Butler for salary-matching purposes, and presumably some form of draft compensation as well.

The Wizards have previously expressed their desire to retain Davis, whom they landed at the trade deadline, as they look to work their way back up the Eastern Conference standings. Swapping the star big man for Butler, who is not expected to return to the court until the middle of winter as he recovers from ACL surgery, could be seen as taking a step back in the short term, despite Davis’ own injury concerns.

A third team could be included in the deal to provide a landing spot for Butler and more win-now pieces for the Wizards, O’Connor speculates. Butler has said that his preference would be to play out the rest of his career in Golden State, as he has strong respect for the organization and star Stephen Curry.

Davis will become extension-eligible in August. It’s unclear how willing the Warriors would be to consider a long-term extension for the talented but oft-injured big man, given Curry’s age.

Both James and Davis are expected to have their share of suitors on the free agency and trade markets, respectively, this summer, which could complicate the Warriors’ efforts to put together a star-studded, veteran super-team around franchise cornerstones Draymond Green and Curry.