The hand injury currently nursing Anthony Davis has undoubtedly complicated the goals of both his camp and the Dallas Mavericks leading up to the February 5 trade deadline. Davis and Rich Paul are trying to get him to a team interested in signing him to a contract extension this offseason, while the Mavericks are looking for the best possible return in a trade after he was previously the centerpiece of their Luka Doncic deal.
Davis has opted out of surgery and is out until at least the end of February, but he could return this season with a new team or with the Mavericks. His return to the Mavericks’ lineup could depend on where they stand in the standings as they weigh a run to the play-in against the best possible lottery odds for their first-round pick.
“It’s very clear that Rich Paul, who represents Anthony Davis, wants Anthony Davis traded before the deadline,” Tim MacMahon said on Wednesday’s Hoop Collective Podcast, explaining the current state of the situation. “And why would he want to? Because he believes it’s in his best business interest. Because he’s taken a ‘We’ll see’ from the Mavericks on an extension as a ‘no.’ And there are teams where Rich Paul clearly thinks it’s likely that AD will get the kind of extension he’s looking for when he becomes eligible in August.
They don’t feel like they need to trade Anthony Davis. They tell me and anyone who will listen that they don’t trade AD just to make a deal. They don’t feel like they have to fire him.
“‘Oh my god, the deadline is here. I have to take whatever the best offer is.’
“They insist they will only make a deal that makes sense to them. And there is no clarity about what exactly that threshold is. But it is a combination of provisional compensation, promising young talent and financial relief in the form of decreasing salaries.
“‘Rich Paul isn’t going to bully us.’ That’s a direct quote from a member of the Mavericks organization.
Another member of the Mavericks organization, referring to Patrick Dumont, the governor: ‘Patrick isn’t going to sign a deal just to make a deal. Owner doesn’t feel any pressure to make an AD deal.’
“A third source: ‘Patrick has no problem going into next year and seeing it with a healthy Kyrie [Irving] and a healthy AD, next to Cooper Flagg, and see how it looks.”
“So there’s the trade deadline, and maybe there has to be an AD deal that they’re comfortable with. Maybe that’s not the case. And then it could be like Kevin Durant, where, okay, you restart things in the summer. But even then, I don’t think they’re going to feel like there’s a ticking time bomb.
“There’s going to be a new, you know, whatever the title is – president of basketball operations, chief decision maker – that they would like to have for Cooper Flagg’s career. And maybe it makes sense to just wait for that person to arrive in Dallas and handle these cases.
“But they also say, ‘Listen, we’re trying to be competitive next year.’ Remember, their choice is not their own. It’s protected in the top two and owned by Charlotte, so there’s no point if they’re bad.”
Davis is due $58.5 million next season and has a $62.8 million player option in 2027-2028.
“They are motivated to get a good Anthony Davis deal,” MacMahon said. “Not just an Anthony Davis where ‘we’ve got to get rid of him.’”
MacMahon predicts that Davis is more likely to remain with the Mavericks past the trade deadline and could even be on the roster after next offseason.
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