Mannix’s NBA Notes: Anthony Davis’s Wizards Fit, Dillon Brooks Should Be an All-Star

Editor’s note: This first appeared in the Open Floor newsletter, a free, twice-weekly publication straight to your inbox. Subscribe now.

Hello readers, welcome back to Open Floor, from Los Angeles, where I’m typing from the Crypto.com Arena press room following the Luka Dončić–less Lakers’ loss to the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander–less Thunder. Tough break for the folks at Peacock who certainly had hoped Monday would be a marquee matchup. The TV schedule makers may have to deal with a lot of that down the stretch of this season. More on that below.

Pod Alert

Rachel Nichols returns for a deep dive into Anthony Davis’s first official visit to Washington, D.C., if Davis and the Wizards can find some alignment moving forward, the NBA’s tanking dilemma, why the league continues to push ahead with the Slam Dunk Contest, if Dillon Brooks was robbed of an All-Star spot and more. Listen here, here and here.

Anthony Davis’s D.C. fit

Good get by The Athletic’s David Aldridge, who caught up with Anthony Davis shortly after his first visit to Washington. Davis kinda, sorta denied Sports Illustrated’s reporting that he wasn’t thrilled by the Wizards trade (“They said I said a lot of stuff in the other city, too, that I didn’t say.”) before noting that there was a lot that needed to be figured out before he was ready to commit to Washington.

“It’s hard to say [I would definitely stay in D.C.] without the proper plan,” Davis told The Athletic. “Obviously, it’s tough right now with the team. It shows with their record, but adding certain pieces, that can change. It’s year by year.”

Look: Davis wasn’t thrilled by the news he was being traded to the rebuilding Wizards, though I’ve been told since he’s warmed to it after a positive visit in D.C. Washington is flush with assets and is creating a strong culture behind top execs Michael Winger and Will Dawkins. Being in the Eastern Conference doesn’t hurt either.

But can there be alignment between Davis and the Wizards? Washington sees Davis as something of a developmental tool, a star who can help the team’s growing collection of young talent play in meaningful games. The Wiz are under no illusions that Davis and Trae Young can make them a contender, even in the East. But just getting to the postseason can be hugely beneficial to Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, Bub Carrington and whoever Washington lands in next June’s draft.

Is Davis down for that? A contract extension would help, though Dawkins told reporters that there have been no talks about one. It’s likely the Wizards will want to see how a healthy Davis fits in with the group before committing any kind of meaningful money to a player with his injury history.

Jayson Tatum injury update

On Monday, Boston dropped its first official update on Jayson Tatum: Tatum, who is recovering from a torn Achilles, was “assigned to participate in portions of the Maine Celtics practice,” after which he would be recalled to continue his rehab.

It’s the latest twist in the Tatum watch, which has taken some interesting twists and turns. Last month Tatum held a full 45-minute workout in front of reporters in Detroit, sparking speculation that his return could be imminent. Tatum followed that up with an interview with the Pivot podcast that seemed to downplay his chances of coming back this season. Formally practicing with Boston’s G League affiliate is the strongest indication to date that Tatum is still eyeing an in-season return.

Jayson Tatum: “It’s been a long journey.”

On participating in portions of the Maine Celtics’ practice yesterday:

“It doesn’t mean that I’m coming back right now.” pic.twitter.com/gtrFxPXhGE
— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) February 10, 2026

Dunk Contest overhaul

Happen to catch the field for this weekend’s Slam Dunk Contest? You might have needed a media guide to recognize them. Carter Bryant (Spurs), Jaxson Hayes (Lakers), Keshad Johnson (Heat) and Jase Richardson (Magic) will compete in the NBA’s once marquee Saturday night event. That’s two rookies, a 7-foot center and a forward who has played 37 games in two seasons.

The NBA needs to euthanize this event. Veteran stars stopped competing in it long ago. Now the league can’t even get its top young players interested. VJ Edgecombe would have added some sizzle. The Sixers rookie passed. Cooper Flagg would have made it interesting. Flagg brushed off a question about it last month. Hell, Mac McClung, the three-time champion, declined to participate.

That the NBA hasn’t killed off the dunk contest by now is a little surprising. There’s been some buzz for a one-on-one competition. Now that is interesting. Would all the top stars participate? No, but earning the label of the league’s top one-on-one player would surely draw some in. Think there would be an audience for James Harden vs. Anthony Edwards? Or Giannis Antetokounmpo vs. Kevin Durant? Even Edgecombe vs. Flagg would have some sizzle.

The dunk contest was once a highlight of the NBA’s midseason calendar. But the days of Michael Jordan vs. Dominique Wilkins are long gone. Dee Brown ain’t walking through that door. Blake Griffin isn’t coming back to jump over a Kia. The contest has been dying for years. The league should finish the job.

Dillon Brooks should be an All-Star

Just my opinion but the NBA whiffed not adding Dillon Brooks to the All-Star roster this week. Alperen Şengün, who was added as an injury replacement for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, has had a terrific season but his scoring numbers are comparable to Brooks. While Şengün is a better rebounder and playmaker, Brooks remains one of the better two-way players in the league. And the impact Brooks has made as a culture changer in Phoenix, while an intangible, shouldn’t be discounted.

Plus … it’s Dillon Brooks. Want to make an All-Star Game more interesting? Add the guy who is competitive in warmups. The sight of LeBron James, in what could be his final All-Star Game, matching up with his longtime nemesis is wildly compelling. For years the NBA has bemoaned the lack of competitiveness of the game. Adding Brooks would have gone a long way toward fixing that.

Mark Cuban’s Mavericks play

An intriguing story this week from veteran journalist Marc Stein, who reported on his Substack that an unknown investor was interested in partnering with former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban to buy back controlling interest in the Mavs. Making it more intriguing is that a source close to team governor Patrick Dumont offered a vague response, telling Stein “the family remains excited about the future of the franchise and the Cooper Flagg era.”

A source familiar with the situation confirms Stein’s reporting, adding that while Cuban’s interest in buying back control of the team is real and he has some deep pockets behind him, the likelihood of Dumont, who partnered with the Adelson family to buy a majority stake of the Mavericks for $3.5 billion in 2023, selling is low. The Dumont/Adelson group, which runs the Las Vegas Sands casino company, had hoped Texas would legalize sports betting, clearing the path to build a casino/resort in the Dallas area, with an NBA arena at the center of it. While that hasn’t happened, it’s unlikely they would give up this quickly.

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