{"id":117926,"date":"2026-01-10T07:35:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T07:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/117926\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T07:35:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T07:35:09","slug":"no-matter-the-outcome-for-anthony-davis-the-mavericks-can-toss-their-trade-deadline-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/117926\/","title":{"rendered":"No matter the outcome for Anthony Davis, the Mavericks can toss their trade deadline plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO \u2014 Before Thursday<\/a>, the Dallas Mavericks had two clear paths before the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline.<\/p>\n

They could keep Anthony Davis, their most valuable trade asset<\/a>, in hopes he\u2019d someday form a dynamic trio in the Western Conference alongside Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg, as long as everyone was healthy. \u201cAs long,\u201d being the qualifier.<\/p>\n

Or they could prioritize their 19-year-old rookie and trade Davis for a combination of draft picks, expiring contracts and perhaps a young star better suited to Flagg\u2019s timeline.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, their options dwindled to none, and their chances for a blockbuster trade were thrown into disarray. <\/p>\n

Mavericks<\/p>\n

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Davis sustained ligament damage in his left hand during the final minutes of Thursday\u2019s loss<\/a> to the Utah Jazz and is sidelined indefinitely. It\u2019s the latest in a long line of injuries since he was acquired last February.<\/p>\n

If surgery is required, Davis is expected to miss multiple months, which could mean the rest of the 2025-26 campaign.<\/p>\n

This setback tanks the trade value the Mavericks had hoped to restore following his return from a left calf strain that kept him out of 14 games this season.<\/p>\n

The Atlanta Hawks, who officially traded Trae Young to the Washington Wizards on Friday<\/a>, are one of a few teams that had reportedly registered interest in Davis before his latest injury. Even if they\u2019re still interested, what they\u2019re willing to offer could change. The Hawks\u2019 expiring contracts include former Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kennard.<\/p>\n

The Toronto Raptors have also been floated as a possible trade partner, with a framework being built around RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl. <\/p>\n

Chicago, where the Mavericks play the Bulls on Saturday, was also considered a possible landing spot for Davis, who hails from the Windy City.<\/p>\n

The Mavericks are a half-game out of 11th place in the West entering Saturday\u2019s game, just two games in the loss column behind the Memphis Grizzlies, who will reportedly entertain offers to move star guard Ja Morant ahead of the trade deadline.<\/p>\n

Silver linings have been rare over the past 12 months when it comes to the Mavericks. The opportunity to draft Flagg was their blessing in disguise for missing the playoffs last season. <\/p>\n

This time, the silver lining could come from the Mavericks missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season and earning a quality draft position this summer \u2014 the final draft they have full control over their own first-round pick until 2031.<\/p>\n

Under former general manager Nico Harrison, the Mavericks traded most of their draft assets to build around Luka Doncic, who was infamously traded for Davis on Feb. 1, 2024. After 2026, they don\u2019t control their first-round pick until 2030. <\/p>\n

The 2026 draft class is being touted as one of the strongest in recent memory, with a trio of prospects in Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson who have the potential to be selected with the No. 1 pick, as Flagg was in 2025.<\/p>\n

With Davis sidelined, it would be in the team\u2019s best interests to unleash Flagg, a two-time Rookie of the Month who\u2019s earning All-Star consideration in the latest returns for fan voting. <\/p>\n

Flagg is averaging 19.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals and could have an expedited development into a true No. 1 option for the Mavericks.<\/p>\n

Davis is averaging 20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 20 games this season. When he\u2019s healthy, he\u2019s still a dominant two-way force. But his availability has been his Achilles\u2019 heel.<\/p>\n

A week ago, the Mavericks were good.<\/p>\n

Well, maybe not good, considering where they sit in the standings, but they were better off than they are today.<\/p>\n

X: @MikeACurtis2<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Ryan<\/a>The curse of Nico strikes again: Latest injury leaves Mavericks stuck with Anthony Davis<\/a><\/p>\n

The Mavs\u2019 trade deadline hopes of getting something back for the oft-injured Davis have blown up in their faces.<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/a>Mavericks fear Anthony Davis suffered serious hand injury that could require surgery<\/a><\/p>\n

Davis suffered a left hand injury during the final minutes of Thursday\u2019s loss to the Utah Jazz.<\/p>\n

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICAGO \u2014 Before Thursday, the Dallas Mavericks had two clear paths before the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117927,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[4643,732,4642,102,104,2582,103,4280,4281,6538],"class_list":{"0":"post-117926","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-anthony-davis","9":"tag-article","10":"tag-cooper-flagg","11":"tag-dallas","12":"tag-dallas-headlines","13":"tag-dallas-mavericks","14":"tag-dallas-news","15":"tag-jason-kidd","16":"tag-mavericks","17":"tag-nico-harrison"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}