Anthony Davis’s Latest Injury Can’t Possibly Help Mavericks Trade Talks

Stephen Douglas | 13 Hours Ago

Anthony Davis was doubled over in pain after hurting his left hand against the Jazz. / Chaz NBA / YouTub

Anthony Davis is hurt again. The Dallas Mavericks big man suffered a fresh new injury during Tuesday night's loss to the Utah Jazz. Davis was defending Lauri Markkanen when he appeared to jam his left hand against the body of the Utah big man.

Davis immediately stopped playing and bent over, holding his hand. He tried to continue, but had to come out at the next dead ball. After being looked at by two trainers he headed to the locker room and did not return. On his way up the tunnel he stopped and doubled over in pain.

The Mavericks had a two-point lead when Davis hurt his hand and Markkanen immediately scored to tie the game. By the time he exited, the Mavericks were losing. At the time Davis had 21 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot.

It was Davis's fifth straight start after returning from a strained hamstring he had suffered on Christmas against the Warriors. He left that game in the first half and missed the next two, but was back in the lineup on New Year's Day. Since returning he had played at least 35 minutes in each game while the trade rumors about him swirled.

Now he's injured again. However long he's out, it will be the third time this year he's been shut down by an injury. Davis was in the lineup on opening night and played in the first four games without incident. Then he suffered a calf strain against the Pacers and missed 14 straight games and appeared in just one game in the entire month of November as the Mavericks went 4-12.

The Mavericks are now 14-24 on the season, sitting at No. 11 in the Western Conference standings. They are 10-10 when Davis plays and 1-2 the games where he has left with an injury.

Davis, Nico Harrison's best excuse to attempt to justify the Luka Dončić trade, has been as injury-prone as ever since arriving in Dallas. Davis was injured in his Mavericks debut and missed the next 18 games.

He's played 75 or more games just three times in his career and this will be the 11th time he's played fewer than 70 games. This is his 14th year in the NBA.

Davis, who turns 33 in March, will make over $58 million next season and then has a player option for $62.7 million the next year. With another injury, it's unclear what the Mavericks will do with him. Or even what their options are. According to The Athletic, it sure sounds like they're stuck between a rock and a contractually hard place:

The Mavericks are expected to continue to listen to offers on Davis in the coming weeks, but according to team sources, their front office doesn’t feel like it must deal Davis before the deadline. The team is interested in seeing Davis and Flagg play alongside Kyrie Irving and hasn’t closed the door on the idea of Davis remaining in Dallas long-term.

However, league sources say Davis’ representatives do not believe there’s an extension agreement to be had with the Mavericks in the upcoming offseason. As such, the sources say, there is a strong desire from Davis’ camp to get him traded to a destination where they feel an extension would be more likely.

They want to see what they've got with a fully healthy team, but two of the biggest pieces are always injured. They want to keep Davis, but they aren't going to want to pay him what he wants. They're also considering trading him, but what other team would want to pay him?

Any team that was considering a trade for Davis has to take a step back today and remember who they're talking about. Davis is an unquestionably good player, but there is always a question about his availability.

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