NBA Trade Rumors: Anthony Davs’s injury history, in combination with the assets a team will have to give up to acquire him, should give NBA teams pause
"” Anthony wants to be traded to a team that allows him the chance to win consistently and compete for a championship.”"
This was said by NBA agent Rich Paul in regards to where his client Anthony Davis would like to go after requesting a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans. Unfortunately for Rich Paul, one can argue that teams would be better off waiting until free agency to acquire Davis because of his injury history.
Anthony Davis has missed 91 out of a possible 542 regular season games in 6-plus NBA seasons due to numerous injuries. One example of this was on February 8th, 2015, when Davis had to leave a home game against the Chicago Bulls because he fell on his right shoulder after dunking on Pau Gasol.
After the game, his former head coach Monty Williams stated that Anthony was day-to-day with a sprained right shoulder. The sprained shoulder would only end up costing him two games as he returned in the first game after the all-star break.
Unfortunately, his return would be short-lived as Anthony would reinjure the shoulder during his second game back against the Miami Heat when he collided with Hassan Whiteside on a putback. The reinjury would sideline him for five games over the course of 10 days.
Anthony’s injury history has played a significant role in the New Orleans Pelicans not becoming championship contenders as they have won a total of 28 games (4+5+5+6 +3+3+2) in 6-plus seasons.
Consequently, NBA teams will regret participating in the Anthony Davis sweepstakes as they are going to offer multiple assets for a player who cannot stay healthy. Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports wrote an article stating that the New York Knicks are willing to give up Kristaps Porzingis, rookie Kevin Knox and potentially the No. 1 overall pick in 2019 to acquire Davis.
If the team were able to acquire Anthony by the deadline, it would leave them with Tim Hardaway Jr. as the second best player for the rest of the season. Unfortunately, Hardaway has been unable to prove that can lead a team a team to victory when Davis misses games due an injury.
In fact, the Knicks have compiled 10 wins in 49 games with Hardaway as the number one option. As a consequence, the proposed trade would increase the Pelicans chances of getting the No. 1 overall pick.
Hence, it would be challenging for Davis to win the East without adding another star to the roster. Unfortunately, the other stars in the 2019 free agency class have injury issues of their own. Kyrie Irving has missed 124 out of a possible 608 regular season games throughout seven seasons in the NBA due to injuries.
During his tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kyrie was sidelined for 95 out of a possible 476 regular season games with various ailments (including a broken left index finger and hyperextended knee).
The trend continued with the Boston Celtics last season as he missed 22 regular season games and the playoffs due to a myriad of injuries (facial fractures, left quad contusion, left shoulder and quad soreness as well as knee surgery).
Kyrie’s injury history is a big reason why the team lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference at home against the Cavs. According to NBA.com, the Celtics averaged 108.7 points per 100 possessions with Kyrie versus 101.9 points per 100 possessions without Kyrie.
Therefore, teams should wait until free agency to acquire Anthony Davis as they could maintain most of their roster depth which would allow them to stay afloat when he misses games.