Mavericks may need to accept minimal return in potential Anthony Davis trade

An NBA writer says people need to temper their expectations about an Anthony Davis trade.

Oct 29, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) exchanges words with Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd as Davis walks off the court during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Most people are aware that the Dallas Mavericks may be looking to trade Anthony Davis soon. He doesn't fit the roster at all, he muddies the spacing, and doesn't fit Cooper Flagg's timeline, which is the timeline they need to be worried about.

However, it may be difficult for the Mavericks to trade Davis and feel like they're getting a good return. In fact, it'll be nearly impossible considering that he was traded for Luka Doncic initially. He's only played in 14 games since the trade, came into the season overweight, and is in the first year of a three-year, $175 million contract. By the time he's 34 years old, he'll have a player option for over $62 million. He's probably picking that up.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps revealed that it doesn't seem like there are a lot of teams that will be "lining up" to trade for Davis on the recent "Hoop Collective" podcast.

"The idea of trading Anthony Davis has everyone trained to think, well, they're gonna get three firsts, two swaps, they're gonna get two young players and they're gonna get all this stuff," Bontemps said. "I shouldn't say it's not gonna happen... but, you talk to people in the league, there's not a lot of teams that are lining up to take on a 35-year-old Anthony Davis making $63 million, and you have to assume that he's gonna opt into that deal.

"A lot of this is gonna be, can Dallas find someone willing to take on the money. If the answer is yes, then you go to, OK, if they're taking on the money, what are they sending out?"

READ MORE: Mavericks' Jason Kidd sounds off on Chris Paul's retirement announcement

Mark Cuban Can Deny It, But the Mavericks Need to Trade Anthony Davis

Last week, Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban said to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, “We won’t [trade Davis]. We want to try to win."

The issue is that even with Davis, the team isn't winning anything. It's a poorly constructed roster, which is why Nico Harrison has been fired as the general manager. Cuban likely said this as a "We aren't giving him away for nothing/We're trying to build up his trade value" kind of thing. But using the "we want to win" as the rationale is going to fall on deaf ears.

Even when Davis was playing, his production wasn't useful. He's a bad fit on the roster because he prefers to play power forward, but the Mavs have two non-shooting centers that they have a lot of belief in. The sooner they trade Davis, where they can hopefully get a first-round pick or two in return, the better.

READ MORE: Anthony Davis' absence major reason behind Mavericks power rankings fall

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