Without Anthony Davis, Mavericks should have no problem being bad. That’s a good thing

For the third time in his 11-month tenure with the Dallas Mavericks, Anthony Davis is going to miss an extended stretch of games.

Davis’ latest injury occurred late in the fourth quarter Thursday against the Utah Jazz when he suffered ligament damage in his left hand trying to defend Lauri Markkanen’s drive to the basket. He will see a hand specialist to determine if he needs surgery, yet he’s expected to be sidelined for several weeks even if that procedure is not necessary, a league source told The Athletic.

Where does this leave the Mavericks and Davis, whom Dallas was trying to trade before he went down again? The consensus among NBA personnel The Athletic contacted Friday was that Dallas won’t be able to trade Davis before Feb. 5. Davis’ trade value was already low because of his contract (he is owed $58.5 million next season and holds a $62.8 million player option in 2027-28) and his durability concerns. This hand injury only lowers his trade value.

If there’s any silver lining for Mavericks fans, it’s that their team should not be good for the rest of this season. The Mavericks have gone 10-10 with Davis in the lineup this campaign and 4-14 without him. That the Mavericks have played at an 18-win pace without Davis this season is a good thing.

Why? After this year, the Mavericks don’t have outright control of their own first-round pick again until 2031. That means it’s absolutely critical they are able to draft a franchise building block this June.

Last spring, the Mavericks were gifted the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card for the disastrous Luka Dončić trade when they won the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes. Flagg, who turned 19 last month, has been one of the best teenagers to ever put on an NBA uniform. He scored 42 points when Dallas visited Utah in December and narrowly missed becoming the youngest player ever to record a triple-double in Thursday’s rematch between the teams in Salt Lake City.

As good as Flagg already is, the Mavericks will need to put more elite young talent around him to have a chance to be competitive with their I-35 neighbors to the north (Oklahoma City Thunder) and the south (San Antonio Spurs).

The Thunder used 22- and 24-win seasons to put championship talent around their face of the franchise, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They drafted Josh Giddey at No. 6 in 2022 and later flipped him in a trade for defensive ace Alex Caruso. Then, in 2023, Oklahoma City chose Chet Holmgren with the No. 2 selection. Holmgren doubles as one of the NBA’s best rim protectors and a hyper-efficient complementary offensive player.

Meanwhile, the Spurs, who are second in the West behind the Thunder, have picked in the top four in each of the last three drafts. They chose Victor Wembanyama No. 1 in 2023, Stephon Castle No. 4 in 2024 and Dylan Harper No. 2 in last year’s draft.

The Mavericks need to find a running mate for Flagg in this year’s draft. As unfortunate as Davis’ latest injury was, the reality is his absence helps Dallas’ chances of having a high lottery pick and possibly leaping into the top four again, where it could find its own version of Holmgren or Castle.

As of Friday evening, the Mavericks (14-24) had a 26.3 percent chance of winding up with a top-four selection. No matter how poorly they play the rest of the way, it will be difficult for them to finish with a worse record than teams like the Indiana Pacers (7-31), Washington Wizards (10-27), Brooklyn Nets (11-24), New Orleans Pelicans (9-31) or Sacramento Kings (8-30).

Without Davis, though, it’s in play for the Mavericks to have a worse record than the Jazz (13-24, and in need of a poor finish because they must surrender their pick to the Thunder unless it falls in the top eight) or the Los Angeles Clippers (14-23, and who owe their pick to the Thunder no matter what happens).

Davis’ injury makes it clear which direction the Mavericks need to go. The best teams in their conference were built with multiple high-level lottery picks.

The Mavericks can resume trade talks for Davis this summer. For the next four months, the best thing they can do is be bad, which won’t be difficult without their $54 million player in the lineup.