Zach Lowe wants to see Anthony Davis on the Hornets, but it would mean LaMelo exit

In case you haven't noticed, the Dallas Mavericks are an absolute mess. They just fired Nico Harrison (finally), but doing so won't bring back Luka Dončić or restore their fans' interest in the team. Pundits are suggesting that the Mavs blow everything up and rebuild around Cooper Flagg. This has many people envisioning Anthony Davis trades.

The Ringer's Zach Lowe brought up an interesting idea in that realm: AD to the Charlotte Hornets. "A very fun (Davis trade) that will not happen because the timelines don't intersect, but I would pay to watch it happen, is Charlotte," Lowe said. "Let's just get crazy in the Eastern Conference. Let's look at LaMelo (Ball), AD ... let's go nuts."

Zach Lowe would like to see Anthony Davis in Charlotte, but does that really make sense for the Hornets?

🎙️ @ZachLowe_NBA on possible Anthony Davis trades:

"A very fun one that will not happen because the timelines don't intersect, but I would pay to watch it happen, is Charlotte. Let's just get crazy in the Eastern Conference. Let's look at LaMelo (Ball), AD... let's go nuts." 🙃 pic.twitter.com/eKjDQV8Aas
— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) November 12, 2025

If the Hornets did actually go after Davis, they'd need to include LaMelo in the trade to make the money work. LaMelo's contract plus an additional Hornets player would line up financially. The following players would work alongside Melo in a 2-for-1 AD trade: Josh Green, Grant Williams, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Pat Connaughton, Tre Mann, or Tidjane Salaün.

Of course, the Hornets wouldn't trade Miller or Knueppel (alongside LaMelo) for a 32-year-old Anthony Davis. The next best assets on the above list are Tre Mann and Pat Connaughton's expiring deal. In addition to two players, Dallas would surely demand some draft capital from Charlotte by leveraging other offers on the table for AD.

Anthony Davis seeing Nico Harrison get fired because he can never play any games pic.twitter.com/xt2b9MgYU9
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) November 11, 2025

Would the Hornets be wise to give up LaMelo, Mann, and (potentially) multiple picks for AD? It all depends on how steep the draft capital portion of the deal ended up being. You certainly don't want to sacrifice multiple first-rounders for an aging Davis.

Getting AD for Melo and one of the above players (not named Miller or Knueppel) would be an obvious win for Charlotte if no picks were involved, but Dallas wouldn't take that phone call.

Ultimately, despite the tantalizing prospect of landing Davis and putting him out there with Charlotte's intriguing rookie core, it's probably wise to stay away from AD at this point.

Anthony Davis with the Lakers vs. AD with the Mavs 😭 pic.twitter.com/fwqeKrweUo
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) November 11, 2025

We've seen how important durability has become in the NBA. If your stars can't stay on the floor, you're pretty much doomed, both basketball-wise and salary cap-wise.

If this was a 27-year-old AD we were talking about, the discussion might be a little different. It's best to hold onto LaMelo until a deal for a younger and less injury-prone asset comes along.

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