Despite the ongoing Anthony Davis trade rumors from the last month since firing Nico Harrison, the Dallas Mavericks shouldn't be expected to trade him ahead of the February 5 trade deadline. This doesn't mean that they won't listen to offers for him, as this has been a known fact for weeks, but moving on from him isn't a guarantee by any means.
Christian Clark of The Athletic dropped an in-depth trade intel piece on the Mavs on Monday morning, and, according to him, they "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."
This has been many fans' thinking on the Davis situation the entire time, as they thought that Dallas would trade him in an attempt to bottom out and increase their lottery odds, but this comes with its own complications. The Mavericks know that it would be hard to significantly raise their lottery odds due to how talented they are compared to how bad some of the league's bottom feeders are.
Mavericks want to rise rather than fall down the standings
Dallas has won five of their last six games, and all of this has been done with Kyrie Irving out of the lineup. They are currently the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference with a 10-16 record, and we could see them continue to climb over the next few weeks.
Cooper Flagg's ascension, combined with steady point guard play from Ryan Nembhard and Brandon Williams, has completely changed the trajectory of the team, and they look like a squad that could squeeze into the Play-In Tournament.
The phrase "the Mavs are too good to tank" has been said by many fans over the last few weeks, and the organization seems to feel the same way. They've had a front row seat to watch Dallas play some of the worst teams in the NBA this year, and the talent disparity is massive despite the Mavericks' below-average record, saying otherwise.
With Dallas wanting to compete for the rest of the season, this is likely a clear indicator that Davis could remain a focal point and cornerstone of the franchise until at least this summer. The Mavericks need to get proper value back for him after failing to do so when they moved Luka Doncic just over 10 months ago, and as Clark noted, some people from around the NBA believe that Dallas could wait to move him until the summer.
Putting off trading Davis until the offseason will allow him to spend the rest of the season improving his trade value (assuming he can stay relatively healthy), and while the Mavericks' lottery odds could decrease marginally by keeping him around, the logic makes sense. He is playing excellent basketball as of late, and even if the Mavs held a fire sale, their roster would still be much better than teams like the New Orleans Pelicans, Brooklyn Nets, and Washington Wizards.
This Mavericks roster, as currently designed, isn't built to tank. Flagg is already elite as an 18-year-old, and his presence alone elevates Dallas' floor ahead of the teams that are racing to the bottom in hopes of securing a favorable lottery pick.
Flagg and Davis have formed a strong on-court partnership, and the idea of adding Irving to this group should at least have fans excited. The expectation from the fan base that Davis would certainly get traded ahead of the deadline should be thrown at the window at this point, and despite this not being what many Dallasites want to hear, it's the truth.
Unless something changes over the next few weeks, which is definitely possible, the Mavs want to compete rather than waive the white flag. They could keep the foundation of their roster intact if they don't get offers that move the needle for them, and that's exactly how they should operate.
Davis remains a top-15 player in the NBA when he's fully healthy and locked in, and the Mavericks are operating as such.