The Golden State Warriors claim they were never interested in trading for Dallas Mavericks big man Anthony Davis, in a deal that would have sent Jonathan Kuminga and possibly Draymond Green to Texas. Now it looks like no one will be trading for The Brow until this summer.
Davis is waiting for a second opinion to determine whether he needs surgery on his left hand, which was injured in Thursday’s loss to the Utah Jazz. We don’t want to jump to conclusions, but when it comes to estimating how many games Anthony Davis will miss with an injury, it’s safer to take the under.
That likely concludes a Warriors trade pursuit that may or may not have ever existed. Marc Stein reported that while the Warriors had a “longstanding fondness” for Davis, they weren’t “actively” pursuing him. There are two big reasons why.
One is that they’d have to trade Jimmy Butler or Green to make the money work in the trade. The second is that Davis has two years and over $121M remaining on his contract, if Davis picks up his player option for 2027-28. Last year, Davis played 51 out of a possible 80 games (the Lakers had played two fewer games than the Mavericks when he was traded for Luka Doncic). This season, he’s played 20 out of 39 games, and 29 of 72 Mavericks games since the big trade.
It’s easy to see why a team would covet Davis, who is one of the NBA’s few truly game-changing players with his shot-blocking, rebounding and ability to score inside. He’s averaging 20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. The Mavericks are 10-10 when Davis plays and 4-15 when he sits.
But if Davis is out with an injury at the Feb. 5 trade deadline, it’s hard to see a team making a move for him. The only reason to do so is if a team had assets that would expire before the summer, like that Atlanta Hawks and their expiring contract of Kristaps Porzingis. Even then, the Hawks don’t control their own first-round pick in June, so they have no tanking incentive to acquire a guy who doesn’t play.
Rumors continue to swirl around the Brooklyn Nets and Michael Porter, Jr., but it’s important to remember that most trade rumors never end up happening. Mike Dunleavy, Jr. warned last month that a blockbuster trade would be “pretty unrealistic,” although it feels to this author that trading for Michael Porter, Jr. makes a lot of sense. Come on, Mike Junior! Go get another Mike Junior!
The Warriors may have dodged a bullet with the timing of Davis’ injury, which is not one of AD’s recurring maladies. He’s had issues with his calf muscle, his Achilles tendon, his back, his adductor, his labrum, his knees, his toes, his shoulder, his ankle, his retina, his wrist, and concussions, but a torn ligament in his hand is new. Of course, if Davis had to dodge a bullet, he’s agile enough to do it, but afterward, we’d expect him to miss the next six weeks with a hamstring strain.