Mavericks' Luka Doncic trade looks even worse after another Anthony Davis injury

The Dallas Mavericks' injury woes went from bad to worse on Christmas Day after Anthony Davis left the game with a sore groin.

Davis has been on the court for just 25 of the team's 65 games between February, but another potential absence could make the statistic look worse. It only makes the Luka Doncic trade engineered by former general manager Nico Harrison look that much worse.

"I know he's already been fired and we should all be moving on, but Harrison's legacy of having made probably the dumbest trade in NBA history gets a whole new dose of egging every time Anthony Davis gets hurt, which he did, again, on Christmas, leaving in the second quarter with right groin spasms," CBS Sports contributor Brad Botkin wrote.

"Who knows how long he'll be out this time. He was already out for 14 games earlier this year with a calf strain. This after getting hurt literally in the first game he played for the Mavericks after the trade and missing the next five weeks of last season."

Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison looks on before the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Harrison's trade continues to look worse

Davis will always be viewed in the Mavericks' lexicon as the player who was supposed to replace Doncic. Considering the fact that he gets hurt so often, his legacy in Dallas continues to take hits.

"The fact that Harrison really believed Davis was a better bet to be available moving forward than Luka Dončić, who was painted as this out-of-shape guy who wasn't committed to staying healthy (and who played his final game for the Mavs on Christmas Day 2024), is absurd," Botkin wrote.

"The whole trade was absurd, of course. But trusting Davis' health was just chef's-kiss stupid, and every time he gets hurt in a Mavericks uniform, particularly on the Christmas stage with everyone watching, Nico Harrison's name is going to turn back into a dart board."

The Mavs can try to keep Davis as healthy as possible, but his latest injury is more proof that it's just kicking the rock further down the road with him. The team needs to either figure out a way for him to stay healthy or move on so the franchise can fully move forward with Cooper Flagg as the focal point.

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