Anthony Davis Responds to Latest Round of Mavericks Trade Rumors, Injury Report

On Tuesday, another chapter unfolded in the Anthony Davis saga. After the All-NBA big man was forced to exit a Mavericks loss to the Jazz last week with an injury, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Davis was “likely” to undergo hand surgery to repair ligament damage. The NBA insider further reported that the surgery would “essentially” end AD’s season given the months of recovery time required and the reality that Dallas is all but certain to finish the year outside the West playoff picture.

Charania made things more interesting by following that up with another report: despite the injury to the star's left hand, the Mavs are holding “renewed trade talks” with interested teams for Davis’s talents. The ESPN reporter further pointed out that any team acquiring Davis could add him to the roster come playoff time once he’s fully recovered from the hand injury and the big man would have the chance to establish himself “for the long-term” in that scenario. When on the court, AD has been as good as ever, averaging 20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game.

While the report of a potentially long-term injury seems at odds with increased trade interest, it caught the NBA world’s attention given Davis’s status as a potentially significant chip at the deadline. However, something about the report didn’t sit right with the player himself.

Shortly after Charania’s report hit the wire, Davis took to his X account to dispute the “lies” he’s seeing.

“Yall better stop listening to all these lies on these apps!” Davis tweeted.

He didn’t stop there. AD went on to respond to several tweets aggregating Charania’s report with the same message: “Lies!”

It’s always notable when a player decides it’s necessary to push back on insider reports and especially so in this case with Davis given how little he uses his X account. Before pushing back against the “lies,” the star center had sent one tweet in the previous four years. The last time he regularly used the account was in 2022. So it’s been mostly gathering dust on the shelf for years. But he felt so strongly about the reports out there on Tuesday that he logged back in and spoke out.

Of course, it’s impossible to tell at the moment what exactly he’s disputing. Is Davis pushing back on Charania’s report that his season is basically over? That he’s getting surgery at all? Or did AD finally get sick of all the trade rumors and wanted to speak his mind on the second half of the ESPN report? Until the big man himself clarifies that, we’re left to only guess.

Still, all is not what it seems in Dallas if Davis’s tweets are any indication. A situation to monitor with the trade deadline three weeks away.

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