Amid the Dallas Mavericks’ continued struggles, superstar big man Anthony Davis is the subject of trade rumors.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Davis is expected to be a “critical trade target” for many teams, including Eastern Conference playoff contenders such as the Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors.
Davis, who was acquired as part of the shocking trade that sent Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers last season, is under contract through next season with a player option for the 2027-28 campaign.
At 9-16, the Mavs are 11th in the Western Conference, but they remain in the playoff mix due to the postseason play-in tournament.
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Dallas is only a half-game behind the Portland Trail Blazers for 10th place and the final play-in spot, and it stands to reason that the Mavericks could take a significant leap forward if and when veteran guard Kyrie Irving returns from a torn ACL suffered back in March.
However, even if Irving returns to join forces with Davis and rookie No. 1 overall draft pick Cooper Flagg, it is fair to wonder if Dallas would be able to contend with the Western Conference’s top teams such as the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs.
Davis, 32, has been among the NBA’s best big men ever since the New Orleans Hornets selected him first overall in the 2012 NBA draft.
The likely future Hall of Famer is a 10-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection and one-time NBA champion who boasts career averages of 24.1 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.3 assists in 797 games.
When it comes to Davis, the biggest question mark usually relates to his health, as he has reached the 60 games played mark only once in the past six seasons.
That has continued to be the case this season, as AD missed 14 games in November due to a calf strain. In the 10 games Davis has appeared in this season, he is averaging 19.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.2 assists.
While that scoring average would be the lowest since his rookie season, it is more so due to a lower volume of shooting than a lack of efficiency, as Davis is making 52.3 percent of his field goal attempts.
If an Eastern Conference team does acquire Davis this season, it could potentially cause a seismic shift in the balance of power.
The East is wide open with perhaps as many as nine teams appearing to have a legitimate chance to go the distance, and any of those nine teams trading for Davis could suddenly make them the favorite.
The Pistons are atop the conference currently with a record of 19-5, and pairing superstar guard Cade Cunningham with Davis would make for a tough-to-stop combo.
That also goes for the fourth-place Raptors led by Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram, and the ninth-place Hawks led by Jalen Johnson and the currently injured Trae Young.
Since the Eastern Conference is there for the taking, it could convince a team to get uber-aggressive on the trade market, which would work to the Mavs’ advantage in terms of landing a sizable haul of draft picks and players in exchange for Davis.