SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With a little more than four weeks remaining until the NBA trade deadline, the Dallas Mavericks face an uphill battle to qualify for the Western Conference’s Play-In Tournament.
On Tuesday, the Mavericks eked out a 100-98 win over the Sacramento Kings to end a seven-game road losing streak. Dallas (14-23) needed a go-ahead 3-pointer from Brandon Williams with 34 seconds remaining to avoid a second loss to the 14th-place Kings in 11 days.
The Mavs, who had hoped Anthony Davis’ return from a left calf strain in late November would spark a turnaround, are 4-7 in their last 11 games but now sit 2 1/2 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for 10th place in the West standings.
Their pricy payroll and lack of draft capital to build around Cooper Flagg make them obvious candidates to be sellers ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline. No player on their roster is a greater source of intrigue throughout the NBA than Davis. The 10-time All-Star remains one of the league’s most impactful two-way big men, but he’s owed $58.5 million next season and is seeking a massive contract extension this summer.
The Mavericks are expected to continue to listen to offers on Davis in the coming weeks, but according to team sources, their front office doesn’t feel like it must deal Davis before the deadline. The team is interested in seeing Davis and Flagg play alongside Kyrie Irving and hasn’t closed the door on the idea of Davis remaining in Dallas long-term.
However, league sources say Davis’ representatives do not believe there’s an extension agreement to be had with the Mavericks in the upcoming offseason. As such, the sources say, there is a strong desire from Davis’ camp to get him traded to a destination where they feel an extension would be more likely.
Considering the track record of his longtime agent, Klutch Sports founder Rich Paul, who has never been shy about applying pressure when one of his clients prefers to be elsewhere, it’s worth watching where this situation goes from here. League sources say Paul has already encouraged the Mavericks to be more aggressive in assessing Davis’ current market.
While this situation is nothing like Davis’ acrimonious exit from the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019, when he requested a trade en route to being sent to his top choice in the Los Angeles Lakers, his camp is clearly convinced that there’s not a long-term future for him in Dallas. As they see it, the Mavericks are better suited using a Davis trade to help expedite the rebuilding effort around Flagg.
The Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors are two teams identified by league sources as potential suitors for Davis. League sources say Davis is believed to be amenable to both options, though it remains to be seen how motivated Atlanta and Toronto are to get a deal done. While the Hawks are in the process of trying to trade Trae Young, league sources say the Mavericks don’t have an appetite to take back Young’s contract in exchange for Davis. Hawks officials, in turn, have pushed back strongly on reports that they might be willing to include former No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher in any Davis deal.
The Hawks (17-21; 10th in the Eastern Conference) have also made it clear that the notion of adding Davis while Young remains on the team is a non-starter because of salary alone; those two are owed more than $100 million combined this season. But if Young lands elsewhere in the coming weeks and the Hawks’ stance shifts as a result, Davis would certainly fill a need in Atlanta. Veteran center Kristaps Porziņģis, who has made a significant impact when healthy, is set to be a free agent this summer.
The Raptors (22-15; fourth in the East) are expected to look for help at center and could engage the Mavericks on Davis as Feb. 5 draws nearer, league sources say. Any deal with Toronto would require Dallas to take back long-term contracts. The Mavericks, league sources say, would very likely require significant draft capital coming their way to make a deal of that nature. The Raptors, league sources say, are also known to have interest in Sacramento big man Domantas Sabonis.
The Golden State Warriors (19-18; eighth in the West) have also discussed a Davis deal with the Mavericks, with team sources indicating that the door was not completely closed. Yet with the Warriors known to be staunchly against the notion of trading either Draymond Green ($25.8 million this season) or Jimmy Butler ($54.1 million), there is no realistic pathway to finding a deal that works financially.
League sources say the Milwaukee Bucks (16-20; 11th in the East) are also among the teams that have registered interest in trading for Davis, though a deal appears unlikely. The Bucks have been aggressive in their search for more talent to put alongside superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and expressing interest in Davis falls in line with that pursuit. But their scarce asset base and lack of sizable contracts could limit the attractiveness of a potential trade package.
There is a belief in some NBA circles that the Mavericks won’t be able to find great value for Davis before Feb. 5 and will reengage in trade talks this summer. But the wide-open nature of the Eastern Conference is a variable that must be factored in as the trade deadline approaches.
“Every team in the East believes they’re an Anthony Davis away from making the finals,” one high-level league source said.