What Does Latest Reporting Surrounding Anthony Davis Trade Mean For A Potential Hawks Pursuit?

The latest reporting around Anthony Davis suggests that the Hawks are not going to give up much for the Mavericks big man

Jan 6, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) reacts after being fouled against the Sacramento Kings in the first quarter at the Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

When the Hawks traded Trae Young to the Washington Wizards, they not only acquired CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, but they gave themselves plenty of flexibility and optionality for how they could add to the team. They have the expiring contracts of Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kennard, and CJ McCollum and they can either aggregate those and make a big trade or let them expire and go into free agency with a lot of cap space and ability to add to their team.

Before they even moved Young, though, the Hawks had been heavily linked to Mavericks forward Anthony Davis in a potential trade. That has tempered down a little bit with Davis set to miss time with another injury, but reports suggest that teams are still engaging with the Mavericks about a possible trade.

Should one of those teams be the Hawks?

There has been plenty of debate about whether the Hawks should attempt to trade for Davis, but what they give up has been a big point of contention. The Hawks have not wanted to include the Pelicans pick that they acquired last summer or the 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher. The latest report from NBA insider Marc Stein reiterates those points:

"The Hawks, meanwhile, are capable of getting to nearly $42 million in expiring contracts by packaging Kristaps Porziņģis with Luke Kennard, but Atlanta has been adamant that it will not include 2024's No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher in a deal for Davis.

If the Hawks hold firm on that stance, they would need to add another mid-tier contract to the trade to make the salary cap math work ... which also assumes that the teams agree on the draft capital aspect of the talks."

Given Davis current injury, his injury history as a player, and the fact that he wants a max contract whereever he lands, it would be pretty surprising if the Hawks actually made a move for him at this point. He has not been playing at his previous MVP like level and the other issues that he presents from an injury standpoint and a contractual standpoint just make it hard to see the Hawks actually doing this.

Now, the price might get so low that the Hawks should take a chance on him, but the latest reporting suggests that the Mavericks don't want to just give him away:

"The Mavericks are indeed in active trade conversations with a few teams regarding Davis, league sources say, but they continue to tell interested suitors that they will only be willing to trade him away in the next three weeks if it's a deal they deem favorable. They are not operating with a rush to offload Davis despite the ongoing cries from some around town to ship him out at any cost purely because of the painful reminders of the farcical Luka Dončić trade that Davis' ongoing presence inspires.

The position that the Mavericks appear to have adopted: A bad Davis deal does not actually move things on for anyone associated with the franchise."

There are still going to be rumors connecting the Hawks to Davis, but if the Mavericks are insistent on wanting either the Pelicans pick or Rischer, don't expect a deal to materialize.