For as poorly as the Dallas Mavericks played during the first month of the season, they are still a part of the NBA postseason picture in the Western Conference. As of Monday morning, the Mavericks were in 10th place in the West, which is the lowest spot a team can finish in an effort to earn a playoff berth via the Play-In Tournament.
According to team sources The Athletic has spoken with, the Mavericks are signaling a desire to be competitive for the rest of the season, even though Dallas’ 2026 first-round pick is the last of its own first-round picks it has outright control of until 2031. The Mavericks have won five of six games and, as it was pointed out to The Athletic, it would be difficult to meaningfully improve their lottery odds compared to where they are now because of the gulf in talent between Dallas’ roster and the NBA dregs populating the bottom of each conference.
That doesn’t mean the Mavericks are unwilling to be sellers ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline. The team is expected to listen to offers on many of its veteran players, including Anthony Davis, league sources said. But the Mavericks are acting as though they are comfortable keeping the core of their roster intact through the rest of this season if there aren’t deals out there they feel good about.
In other words, don’t assume Dallas will hold a fire sale.
Here are a few things to consider as the trade deadline approaches.
Mavericks don’t have to make Davis decision now
The Mavericks are 4-2 since Davis returned from a calf strain in late November, with wins over the Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat and Houston Rockets. While Davis only scored two points in Dallas’ Dec. 5 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, he has otherwise been productive, averaging 20 points and 10.5 rebounds per game this season. Davis remains an All-NBA-caliber player when he’s healthy, but his injury history has inspired little confidence about him being consistently available.
So what are the Mavericks supposed to do with their 10-time All-Star who turns 33 in March? Multiple NBA sources with rival teams believe the answer could be nothing — at least for now. The view in some corners of the league is the Mavericks might try to wait until this summer to deal him. The Mavericks could use the rest of this season to improve Davis’ trade value, which is low after he missed extended stretches in each of the last two seasons with an adductor strain and a calf strain.
ESPN was first to report that the Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons are expected to pursue Davis. Perhaps an Eastern Conference team may make a serious run at Davis behind the logic that acquiring him gives it a realistic chance of making a run to the NBA Finals.
Any team that wants to add Davis will have to carefully consider paying him big money as he ages. Davis holds a $62.8 million player option in 2027-28. On Aug. 6, he becomes eligible to sign a contract extension that could take him through his age-37 season. The Mavericks will likely have to decide what to do with Davis before then.
Davis was brought to Dallas to play with Kyrie Irving, someone he considers a close friend. They were on the court together for 2 1/2 quarters in February before Davis sustained a left adductor strain. About a month later, Irving tore the ACL in his left knee. Irving is still recovering, and while the Mavericks have been careful not to put a timetable on Irving’s return, there remains confidence that the star guard will be back this season and that he will play alongside No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg for years to come.
Dallas needs to open up a roster spot
Ryan Nembhard’s emergence has helped spur the Mavericks’ turnaround. The undrafted rookie, who has 62 assists compared to 17 turnovers, is a steady hand at point guard who coach Jason Kidd trusts.
Nembhard is currently on a two-way deal, which limits him to being active in 50 games this season. The Mavericks, The Athletic has previously reported, have plans to promote Nembhard to a standard contract this season, but to do that, they will need to open up a roster spot. Dallas has 15 players on standard deals right now, the maximum allowed.
In Friday’s win over the Brooklyn Nets, neither D’Angelo Russell nor Caleb Martin suited up. Russell was out with an illness; Martin was a DNP-coach’s decision. Both veteran players have failed to make the Mavericks a more competitive team and hold player options on their contracts that Dallas’ front office can’t feel great about.
Russell can exercise a $6 million player option for next season, while Martin holds a $9.4 million player option in 2027-28. The Mavericks are unlikely to be able to shed either of their deals without attaching them to one of their players with positive trade value. Another route to getting their contracts off the books is to include a sweetener in the form of draft compensation. The Mavericks sent the Philadelphia 76ers Quentin Grimes and a second-round pick for Martin in February. Martin is averaging 2.8 points per game on 33.9 percent shooting with the Mavericks.