The Dallas Mavericks have reportedly traded Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy, D’Angelo Russell, and Dante Exum to the Washington Wizards in a deal that drastically helps wipe clean the organization’s salary cap sheet ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline. According to reports by ESPN’s Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon, the team will receive from Washington: Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, two first-round picks and three second-round picks.
The Mavericks, who reportedly shopped Davis for picks and cap relief, had trouble over the last several weeks as the big man is once again nursing an injury. But the organization, led by co-interim general managers Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi, found a partner in the Wizards who recently traded for Trae Young. Now Dallas has wiped $70 million from their books ahead of next season as they position the franchise around rookie sensation Cooper Flagg.
The incoming players serve primarily as cap relief. Middleton, Branham, and Bagley all have contracts expiring at the end of this season. AJ Johnson’s rookie deal expires in 2028. As for the picks, Dallas has received: 2026 Oklahoma City Thunder first-round, a 2030 protected first-round pick from the Golden State Warriors, as well as second rounders in 2026 (Phoenix), 2027 (Chicago), and 2029 (Houston). Those first-round selections may prove to sit on the back end of the first round in both seasons. But the Mavericks collect a plethora of draft assets in the deal at a time when they desperately need them. With all their wheeling and dealing in recent years, the Mavs had lost control of most of their own picks over the next several seasons.
By all accounts the Mavericks front office just accomplished everything they needed to do before Thursday’s deadline, and can finally fully move on from a tumultuous twelve months. They will begin a new era in earnest, building a roster around Cooper Flagg and leave behind the baggage of catastrophic choices. More to come on the trade and reactions here at Mavs Moneyball.