Dallas Mavericks Continue to Look Smart for Trading Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis' comments about his hand injury and possibly wanting to get out of Washington have the Mavs looking like geniuses.

Dec 23, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) looks on during the game between the Mavericks and the Nuggets at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks knew they weren't going to get a great return on their investment in Anthony Davis when they started shopping him around. He was the primary return for Luka Doncic, a top 3 player in the NBA; there was never going to be another trade to match that kind of value.

Dallas' Co-interim GM setup of Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley was able to trade Davis before the trade deadline to the Washington Wizards in what was mostly a salary dump. Davis was packaged with D'Angelo Russell, Jaden Hardy, and Dante Exum to get a return of the expiring contracts of Tyus Jones, Khris Middleton, and Marvin Bagley III, a flier in AJ Johnson, and five total draft picks.

It wasn't a great return, but it was the best they were ever going to get, especially with all of the information coming out of Davis over the last week or so.

In an interview with ABC, Davis admitted that "The doctor actually told me now that I'm healing... he was nervous because he'd never seen anything like that because some of the ligaments that were torn are pretty thick."

As a reminder, Davis suffered that injury by getting his hand stuck in the jersey of Lauri Markkanen late in a game against the Utah Jazz in January. He'd end up not playing the rest of the season because of it. It may have been a freak injury, but he's constantly injured. That's why trading Luka Doncic for him was so baffling.

Mar 8, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Washington Wizards forward Anthony Davis (23) watches during the first half against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Anthony Davis Questions Washington's Will to Win

Anthony Davis also said he plans to meet with the executives in Washington to see what their plan is to win next season. When asked about playing for them next year, he said, "I'm under contract. I love my money."

That's not the quote of someone who would do anything to win. Washington could be a scrappy team next year. They made two in-season trades for injured All-Stars, Trae Young and Anthony Davis, have solid young pieces like Tre Johnson, Alex Sarr, and Kyshawn George, and they'll have a top-5 pick in a loaded draft class to add to that. If they get AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson, they're going to be a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference.

That all depends on Davis, though. He has rarely shown the ability to be healthy in his career, but the Wizards desperately need him to be. That's why it was smart for the Mavericks to get out of the Anthony Davis business while they still could. They have newfound financial flexibility and a few extra draft assets they can use to help rebuild their team around Cooper Flagg.

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