The year was 2016. The Detroit Pistons were coming off a string of terrible seasons after having a string of terrible GMs who negligently killed the hopes of the Pistons' fan base...a group of people who were so used to being let down that Kid Rock, at one point, seemed like a viable option for Senator. The Pistons did have one thing going for them, though. 23 year old Anthony Davis was nearing his projected potential to be the best player in PBSL. In his 4th year, Davis averaged almost 40 points per game. He was about to hit RFA, and commissioner WigNosy was so worried that the deadbeat GM of the Pistons wouldn't even be around to exercise AD's RFA rights that he ousted the Pistons GM and forced the city of Detroit to replace him with a much more capable manager.
But Anthony Davis had had enough. After a couple seasons where Detroit should have been surrounding Davis with talent, all they had to show for it were a few younger players who were auto-drafted (and some, like Tim Hardaway, Jr., died in training camp). The previous GM did exhume himself from his perpetual state of absenteeism long enough to trade away the second most promising star, Bradley Beal, to the Dallas Mavericks. It was clear Davis wanted off of this sinking ship. He agreed to a max contract with his hometown Chicago Bulls, who at the time, were rebuilding around Zach LaVine and Victor Oladipo.
But the Pistons' new ownership was a breath of fresh air. While he was new to the league, he knew enough to match Anthony Davis and assemble talent around him. Two years later, they were hoisting the championship trophy.
But without the safety net that RFA provides, Anthony Davis, fresh off being shocked by a 7th seed Wizards team in a first round sweep, has options. Surely, every team that can send him a max will send him a max. Some teams might even try to dump salary just to have a shot. Here, we'll rank from a scale of 0 to 5 Anthony Davis' how likely each team is to land Anthony Davis.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks have $93 in salary on the books for the 2020-2021 season. Realistically, they have no shot at signing Anthony Davis. But they're the Hawks, and it's possible that Anthony Davis would take a giant pay cut to go play in Atlanta if AD suddenly decided he hated basketball so much that he didn't want anyone to play it because the 28 other GMs would most definitely quit.
Boston Celtics
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The Boston Celtics are probably over the hump in their rebuild. They've got a little cap space to try to get a deal in RFA or add on some extra help in UFA, but not enough to entice Anthony Davis. They could offload some salary, but it'd have to be salary of guys they invested in, and with a young core that should most definitely be about Julio De La Rosa's development, I don't see AD packing up his cah and heading to beantown.
Brooklyn Nets
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The Nets already have 108 million on the books for the 2020 PBSL season (assuming Oladipo exercises his player option), and that's not counting the max contract heading to F. Cole Medina. Brooklyn is a cool place, and their team would be stacked with AD and Buddy Pedraza, but there's a reason that PBSL has salary caps, and Brooklyn's already so stacked with talent that they're going to run into the same problem that's been plaguing them for a while...8 man rosters with very little room for 2nd unit depth. They'll try to move Tyreke over the offseason, but that's a hefty pricetag to try to move in such a limited amount of time.
Charlotte Bobcats
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The Bobcats will not legally be allowed to offer a player more than a vet min in salary until 2097.
Chicago Bulls
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It's happened before, but it won't happen again. The Bulls don't have the cap space, and they'll be well over after maxing Vernon "Vin Diesel" Desantis. The front office staff is more than willing to meet with Anthony Davis to discuss some of the beautiful cities on the Pacific Coast that are much less depressing than the Midwest, though.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Finally, a team with enough cap space to send a max to Anthony Davis! Unfortunately, it's the Cleveland Cavaliers. As enticing as it would be to play with Al-Farooq Aminu and perhaps Dirk Hardpeck in a city that is arguably less appealing than Detroit, I'm fairly confident that AD won't be spending a lot of time at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (unless he's brushing up on halls of fame for his eventual induction).
Dallas Mavericks
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The Mavs only have 4 players under contract for sure in 2020, but they are probably going to be around 10 million short of max money. They could always send Rubio to Detroit for cheap in an attempt to free up space, but a GM with a reputation of stickling over a point or two in trades is probably not going to be so careless as to take that much of a risk. They'll focus on getting players in before having to re-max Beal, but AD's free agency comes a year to soon for Dallas to have a chance when the Whiteside and Rubio contracts free up a good 70 million dollars to throw at AD if he craves a reunion with Bradley Beal...if only he'd taken a supermax in RFA.
Denver Nuggets
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The Denver Nuggets are yet another team that's already over the cap due to the bulky contracts of Blake Griffin, Jrue Holiday, and Chet Dooley. However, with a conference finals appearance despite injuries, the Nuggets are probably looking elsewhere besides slightly upgrading Griffin for another run next year. Though they might rebuild for the right offer, I don't see that jelling at all with an acquisition of AD with so many moving parts needing to be involved.
Detroit Pistons
Chances are that Davis stays with the Pistons for a supermax. He's got high marks for loyalty and wants to play for a winner, and he's won in Detroit. I know it's not the most groundbreaking claim an article has ever made, and I hope that it doesn't happen, but unless the sim gods have some built in data that prevents a team from being too good, Detroit could probably move someone like Steven Keitt for a win now player from a win later team, overpay in RFA, and resign AD to make every Central Division GM miserable for the next 5 seasons.
Golden State Warriors
Hey! Another team with cap space! Granted, the Warriors were a wreck last year, but they have a few things going for them that Cleveland doesn't...a handful of promising young players at positions that AD doesn't play and a city that people like living in. Plus, the Warriors have one of the most successful GMs of all time. Ben is savvy, and a Warriors team with AD would probably win a few championships without him having to teeter totter between being the best team in the league or the worst team in the league every year.
Houston Rockets
If the Pistons can win a championship with pretty much AD alone, the Rockets can do almost as well with less. Maybe AD likes the weather or the front office in Houston. Aside from that, there's not too much reason to really sign. They'll have Bob Covington and Jonathan Treat, and after a year weathering restrictions until he paid off his tax bill, GM 78# might be active in the early preseason to build a better argument for AD to come to town. It doesn't feel like Davis' best option, though.
Indiana Pacers
See Cleveland. Then subtract maybe a fraction of an Anthony Davis because Pauly will want to fill out a roster without going over cap. He did have a great run with Deron Williams, and I think it's worth it to at least make the pitch, but there's nothing about the Pacers' roster right now that makes it seem like an ideal spot for Anthony Davis except for maybe a GM that always is competitive whether he has the pieces or not.
Los Angeles Clippers
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The Clippers don't have enough on the books to max Anthony Davis with Kemba Walker, the 44 million dollar man, Kevin Durant, and some random contracts that trillotto picked up. But even if they had the space, they'd probably forget to give him an offer anyway, or maybe they wouldn't even want to. Not with the likes of Sheldon Shrum and Landon Gwin on the free agent list.
Los Angeles Lakers
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The currently stewarded Lakers might have cap space if Giannis wants to play for a competitor, but years of neglect should have Antetekounpo's market value dwindling lower than the max money he'll receive for sticking with his player option. Plus, since the team is being run by league stewards, I can't imagine that they'd necessarily want the best player in the league signing with an inactive team and then beating people anyway. They stay realistic and stick with a sensible plan instead of a longshot here.
Miami Heat
The Heat are a young team with a lot of salary to spend and a savvy GM who knows how to use it wisely. Still, I think the team's future is too up in the air for AD to consider taking his talents down to South Beach. Some smart moves in RFA could lure in more interest, but RFA is not the most surefire way to get players unless you have the rights. Still, maybe AD really likes palm trees, and Miami would be a change of scenery where he's the leader of a young team. It depends on how Davis and Gay are relating on the court.
Milwaukee Bucks
I'd like to give the Bucks more than 0 Anthony Davis' and 1 Anthony Davis is the lowest increment above that I can give. Sure the Bucks are over the amount where they can max him, and sure they have Damian McNary at PF, but who knows what deals their GM has already shook hands on for the offseason? There were rumors that the Bucks plan to make a push next season, but really, it's anybody's guess what the Bucks opening day roster will look like, so I can't rule AD completely out to make the jump to a team with a hodge podge of young talent who could be traded in numerous different ways.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves, if they don't do anything else this offseason, could have just enough space to max Anthony Davis and have Wiggins, Porter, and AD all on the same roster. It may be unprecedented for 3 purple potential players to be on the same team, and the Wolves wouldn't have room for much else on the roster, but they wouldn't need it. This would guarantee that Raby never gets knocked out of the first round again until AD retires. It would be a starting 3 so dominant that Raby could fill in the gaps with players based on how funny he finds their names.
New Orleans Pelicans
They have the cap space, and they have the GM that lured Kyrie from a superteam to the Big Easy. Can they do the same with AD? Perhaps. Anthony Davis could go to the Pelicans and be the force on a team with him and some decent young dudes, or Nick can sell him on the Pelicans being a path for him to get traded to any city he wants...even the competitive teams that DON'T have the cap space. 60 Days in New Orleans is a pretty nice vacation in a fun city with great weather. And if he doesn't get dealt, they still probably rule the Southwest for a while/
New York Knicks
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If the Knicks even want the space to go after AD, they're going to need to get rid of at least 2 of the 5 contracts of last year's starters. Nikola Jokic isn't going anywhere...he's just too good. Evan Turner and Serge Ibaka are the two cheapest contracts, but if both of them moved, I think they'd still be a little short (unless the cap skyrockets). That leaves Jeremy Lin and Gary Harris. I think either one is theoretically moveable, but there's not a lot of time to reconfigure the jigsaw puzzle that would be clearing the space for AD, and the Knicks aren't going to burn everything down for a longshot signing. Gary Harris isn't the type of player you just give away.
Oklahoma City Thunder
I mean, they have the cap space, but do they have an active GM? It's not an exciting destination, and the team could use a leader that's better than Jabari Parker (and also more players to lead). I give OKC one Anthony Davis because it's at least possible, but they probably don't deserve it. Donnie Skipper? Rusty Keenan? Their signings look like the LA Clippers' wish list.
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic would be an interesting destination for Anthony Davis especially, if he has an affinity for Disney World. With Saric, Smart, and Schroeder on the roster, the Magic were somewhere between competing and tanking, and whether or not any of these pieces get moved in the offseason doesn't affect their ability to pitch to AD. Andy's proved he can put a solid team together (and tear one apart), and AD signing with the Magic with a few solid players in his age cohort and a bevy of OPP (other people's picks) could set the Magic up for a truly magical stretch of success.
Philadelphia 76ers
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Fresh off an NBA Finals appearance, the 76ers are set to retool around Fultz, Grimaldi, and Simmons. They're looking to move Enes Kanter and Gordon Hayward, but those are both pretty hefty contracts to try and offload, and with Simmons upcoming payday, there's probably little priority on selling them for dirt cheap prices just to have a shot at AD, a player who runs the same position as their franchise man in Ben Simmons.
Phoenix Suns
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The 2019-2020 PBSL Champion Suns are trying to drop James Harden, but at 38 million a year, there aren't a lot of teams who could just eat that entire salary who wouldn't rather take a shot at AD. However, James Harden has the most championships of any PBSL player in the last two seasons. If MESSI_2.0 can sell that argument, maybe he opens space up so that the two best players in the league are playing for the same team. That could be worse than a 3 headed purple monster on the Timberwolves. Even if they do move Harden, though, the Suns have had spotty luck in UFA. As the Beatles would say, Love is all they need.
Portland Trailblazers
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The Trailblazers will be unable to max AD with just 3 main guys coming back (CJ opted out!). They assembled a team that looked like it should have won the Northwest if not for the Nuggets having a stronger triumverate of stars coupled with better upgrades at midseason. I think the Blazers would do well to start looking forward and consider cashing in whoever they have left for whatever they can get. However, even if they get some salary off the books, they'd be foolish to walk away from paying Lavar Ball whatever he needs to stay in Portland and change his name back to Matt Peck.
Sacramento Kings
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The Sacramento Kings pushed their chips in with Kyrie Irving, and unless they sell off a couple more pieces, they're not going to be able to max AD. They would be better served to trade for him during the season, but nobody in their right mind would trade AD, and if someone does trade AD, the league office better investigate that shit because chances are, AD lands back in Detroit, and we all know that Mike and Tani are the same person.
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs are a team in tank mode right now, but it's an interesting tank mode with Paul George lending his superstar status. Many think that Eazy will dump PG in the offseason, but if he doesn't, maybe he uses PG to lure Anthony Davis to bring another championship to a well run club like the Spurs. San Antonio's a solid basketball city because it's cool without being distracting, and the weather's always hot. Plus it's got a great basketball pedigree in both the real world of PBSL and it's sim basketball counterpart that's called the NBA.
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz could be a frontrunner for Anthony Davis if Alton Towers isn't too expensive in RFA. Aside from PF, the Jazz have young, talented guys at every spot and juuuust enough cap space to squeak in a max contract if they don't have to overpay Alton Towers. Granted, Salt Lake City is not a town people flock to move to, but Anthony Davis on this team would instantly catapult Utah into the title hunt, and as Gebhardt, Kight, and Johnson continued to develop, they'd only become stronger and stronger hunters.
Vancouver Grizzlies
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The Grizzlies are still paying off that tax bill, so that lands them sadly outside of the hunt unless Joseph Murdercado goes on a hunt himself that ends in a sudden rule change in exchange for the safety of the PBSL staff's families.
Washington Wizards
After trading away their future for a talented roster that made it further than anyone gave it credit for, the Wizards are back to the drawing board. However, they don't have too much going for them to lure AD in. D'Angelo Russell is their best prospect, but he's got better options than Washington and the Wizards, while they have a technical shot, have the disadvantage of trying to lure people to DC during an election year where, presumably, there's going to be the added distraction of Donald Trump and Joe Biden old man fighting throughout most of the season.
