The NBA trade deadline is just a few days away, and the Dallas Mavericks should be expected to be active. Anthony Davis has been in trade rumors for nearly three months now, and the Mavericks' stance on his future in Dallas would leave the Los Angeles Lakers dying laughing.
According to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, "there are some within the (Mavericks) organization who would be in favor of trading Davis even if the return is only expiring contracts." This exposes how bad Davis' trade value has truly gotten over the last year, and the Luka Doncic trade continues to turn into even more of a landslide in the Lakers' favor.
Dallas traded for Davis with the idea that he would give the Mavericks a better shot at winning a title than Doncic did. This was an insane proposition, especially given that Doncic had just led them to the NBA Finals eight months prior, but Nico Harrison and Patrick Dumont decided to strike up a deal anyway.
Mavericks are beyond ready to move on from Anthony Davis
Exactly one year later, the Mavs continue to look even more foolish for making this move. Winning the NBA Draft Lottery and selecting Cooper Flagg was the only thing that saved Dallas from crumbling into one of the worst teams in the NBA, and they're already looking to get out of the Anthony Davis business just one year after bringing him in.
A big reason for Davis' time in Dallas being such a failure has been his nonstop injuries, as he has only played in 31 games as a Maverick since his arrival (29 regular-season games and two play-in games).
On the other hand, Doncic has played in 73 games as a Laker, including five playoff games. Los Angeles got the fair better end of the deal, and the Lakers get to watch their new superstar dominate night in and night out while the Mavericks rarely even get to watch Davis because he is always out of the lineup.
Harrison's prediction that Doncic's body would break down hasn't come true yet. Rather, it happened to the other key component of the trade. And it was so easily predictable.
Davis has been unable to stay on the court for his entire Mavs tenure, and this has caused his trade value to dip to just expiring contracts at this point. As MacMahon stated, the "ideal return" for Dallas in an Anthony Davis trade is first-round draft capital, young talent, and expiring contracts, but it's sounding like some people within the Mavericks' walls are willing to give up on him for just one of these.
Hunting expiring contracts makes sense in a Davis trade, as it'll allow them to clear up significant cap space to spend to build around Cooper Flagg, but the fact that people around the organization are pushing for such a move shows how much has changed over the last year.
Davis has nearly turned into a negative asset, and his trade value has dried up just one year after being traded for Doncic, an undisptuable top-five player in the NBA who's 26 years old. The Mavericks' situation with Davis has truly hit rock bottom if they're ready to move on for just expiring salary, and the Lakers have to be glad that they got rid of him when they did.