Deal or No Deal: Exploring a Potential Anthony Davis Trade

Welcome to Deal or no deal?, our annual trade-season series ahead of the NBA’s Feb. 5 deadline. Its purpose is to find sensible trade partners.While some of the proposals you’ll read about over the next two months stem from previous reports and speculation,these are mostly our own creations in an effort to satisfy all parties involved.

The first entry in this year’s series explores a potential move north for Anthony Davis.

Whether Davis is even up for grabs might be a point of contention in Dallas. The 10-time All-Star can still score 20 points, grab 10 rebounds, and block two shots when healthy. He also served as the centerpiece of the Luka Doncic trade less then a year ago, still has at least another year and a half of team control left, and the 11-17 Mavericks can reasonably contend for a play-in spot by the postseason.

Dallas is 7-5 with Davis in the lineup and currently sits just a half-game out of the 10th and final play-in seed in the west. Add the eventual return of Kyrie Irving to help the struggling offense, and none of this lends itself to the Mavs trading Davis for less than important value.

However, even if Davis stays healthy, Irving returns, and the Mavs improve, they’re unlikely to contend for a championship. Meanwhile, the 2026 draft represents Dallas’ last chance to control its own first-round pick until 2031. If the club wants to surround teenage rookie Cooper Flagg with talent that better fits his timeline, there’s one clear path: Trade Davis to the highest bidder and prioritize lottery odds between now and April.

Then there’s the complicating factor of Davis, himself. The 32-year-old has missed 16 of 28 games this season, 43% of contests over the last two campaigns, and roughly a quarter of his team’s games over the course of his career. The injury-prone big man is owed roughly $58.5 million next season (35.2% of the salary cap), with a $62.8-million player option in 2027-28 (36%).

It’s tough to construct a winner in the age of salary caps when allocating such resources to players a notch or two below the league’s biggest difference-makers, let alone a secondary star who’s frequently injured. and we haven’t even considered the delicate negotiations required for a potential Davis extension.

No team should be mortgaging its future for this version of Davis or rushing to break the bank on an extension next year. But there’s clearly still value in his 6-foot-10 frame. If the Mavs can except that a lesser package centered around Flagg’s timeline is better than nothing, and the team acquiring Davis focuses on what he can provide for the duration of his current contract, there’s still a deal to be struck.

The Raptors, Hawks, and Pistons have been the teams moast frequently linked to Davis in recent reports.