The first time Anthony Davis was traded, he netted a haul. Predictably so. He was a 26-year-old All-NBA big man with an immediate skill set that slid easily into the league’s stylistic preferences at the time and upside to get substantially better. Everyone in the league wanted him, so he picked a destination and returned almost everything that team had.
The second time Anthony Davis was traded, he somehow netted even more. It didn’t matter that he was six years older or that he’d dealt with meaningful injuries or that he never quite developed the 3-point shot teams once hoped he would. One specific team was fixated on trading for him and only him, and when surprisingly large trade returns happen, this is usually why. Desmond Bane wasn’t worth four first-round picks in a vacuum. Mikal Bridges wasn’t worth five. But it doesn’t matter what 28 other teams will pay for a player, only what the highest bidder will. Nico Harrison was the highest bidder and he wasn’t a rational one.
Now the irrational Harrison is gone and the Dallas Mavericks will presumably operate rationally from this point forward. If that’s the case, it won’t be long until we have a third Anthony Davis trade. He’s simply their best hope of recouping the draft capital Harrison previously traded away. A team built around an 18-year-old has no real reason to hang onto a 32-year-old who wants to play his younger teammate’s best position. The Mavericks don’t control their own first-round picks between 2027 and 2030. That makes a proper 2026 tank critical. Getting Davis off of the team now, while he’s still reasonably valuable, not only helps that tank but it ensures that he’s gone before any further injuries or decline weakens the return he can generate.
Of course, that return is already going to be somewhat underwhelming. This is not going to be anything like the first Davis trade. He’s 32, injury-prone, can’t shoot 3s, wants to play the wrong position and was playing some of the worst basketball of his career before he got hurt. He’s no longer a no-brainer trade candidate.
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