AROUND the NBA:

[Smitty]

[Fischer] There’s a legitimate chance that Anthony Davis is traded by the Wizards before appearing in a game for the franchise. The Trail Blazers, who previously pursued him at the trade deadline, could be a potential landing spot— especially if they fail in their chase of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/marcstein/p/your-nba-weekend-three-game-7s-and?r=nuq3a&utm_medium=ios

Sources say that the Blazers also contacted Dallas during the season to gauge the Mavericks' interest in a Grant-centric package sweetened with draft capital in exchange for Anthony Davis. Rather than trade for a player with 2 1/2 pricy seasons remaining on his contract at that point, Dallas shipped Davis to Washington in a deal that featured a modest return in terms of future draft picks but swiftly removed three burdensome contracts (Davis, D'Angelo Russell and Jaden Hardy) from the Mavericks' payroll.

You might have seen our colleague Chris Haynes' eyebrow-raising revelation on Sirius XM NBA earlier this week, stating that he believes there's a chance Davis could be traded this offseason before ever playing a game for the Wizards. (You'll recall that Haynes also first reported months ago that Davis would not play for Washington this season after the trader with Dallas.)

I've heard that same trade sentiment floating around the league ahead of potential contract extension talks this summer and I've likewise been advised by sources close to the situation to regard Portland as a potential Davis suitor should it fall short in its Antetokounmpo pursuit.

The expectation with regard to Trae Young continues to be that Young and the Wizards will come to terms on an extension this summer no matter what happens with Davis in the nation's capital.

No thank you to Grant and that contract. Good move by Riccardi and Co. to take the Wizards offer.