The day Nico Harrison traded Luka Doncic for a package built around Anthony Davis doomed AD to public, ongoing humiliation. The deal itself was a laughing stock. No move in NBA history has been so clearly misguided, even without the most basic defense. It made a terrible decision based on poor basketball philosophy and an unclear process. And Davis, through no real fault of his own, came to represent it all. His tenure with the Dallas Mavericks was cursed from the start. Once the business fails – and it can only fail – disaster will always follow. one more Move on to even lower prices. Harrison didn’t keep his job long enough to see those failures, but the Mavericks made strides toward them all before ultimately accepting the inevitable.
Dallas traded Davis to the Washington Wizards before Thursday’s trade deadline and did so without getting back a single star, blue-chip prospect, or highly coveted draft pick in return. The deal was an acknowledgment of a franchise-crippling mistake that should never have happened in the first place. This was another insult, given that the Mavs – in the updated accounting – effectively traded Doncic for Max Christie, an expiring Khris Middleton, two long-shot prospects like Marvin Bagley, three not-very-good first-round picks, and three seconds.
It’s sobering to see how low Davis got on the open market just a year after the Mavericks blew out a Finals team to acquire him. But Dallas had to do it – not this trade, exactly, but something like that. The Mavericks were never an Anthony Davis team, and any chance they had to become one ended when they ping-ponged to draft Cooper Flagg. The last nine months have seen the franchise gradually becoming aware of this fact. Wednesday’s trade doesn’t right any wrongs, but it at least shows the Mavs finally got their priorities right. The only timeline that matters now is Flagg’s. As he goes, they go. As he evolves, they evolve.
Frankly, Flagg is already so notable that it made making such a blockbuster decision a little easier. There’s no need to put the best thing about the Mavericks into a veteran-driven formula — especially when that formula relies so heavily on Davis, who missed nearly two-thirds of the games during his Dallas tenure, and Kyrie Irving, who hasn’t played a game in nearly a year. That version of the Mavericks was a wish. what is the flag doing Real. When a 19-year-old player is already playing like a star, everything else becomes secondary.
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In an ideal world, Dallas could embark on a full-scale rebuild around Flagg, Christie and Derek Lively II (who had season-ending foot surgery in December). In the messy reality, the Mavs will probably still play somewhat of a middle ground. Even if Matt Ricciardi and Michael Finley (who is co-running the team on an interim basis) tear this roster down to the studs, no amount of cost-cutting and liquidation will change the fact that after 2026, the Mavs will not have control of their first-round draft selection for the next four years. Dallas was good enough to risk its future picks while trying to compete, and foolish enough to compromise the cause that was good enough to take those gambles in the first place. Given the circumstances, bringing back even two first-rounders in a trade for Davis — which is weighty given those picks — seems worthwhile. Dallas clearly needs the means to add more young talent, but also needs assets to maneuver. The first round of elections opens doors. They give a team the currency to pay salaries, work on negotiation angles or expand the scope of a business. The Mavericks may not have control over their own tanking destiny, but any future moves could facilitate movement for one of the most jammed teams in the league. Without draft capital, Dallas had an expensive roster for the play-in. The Davis trade may not have produced amazing returns, but it still materially changed the Mavericks’ circumstances.
Dallas is no longer worried about when Davis can return to the floor after suffering ligament damage in his hand. There’s no need to make peace with those types of injuries while working out the details of an extension that could easily cost Davis more than $60 million per season. The Mavs were a lottery-bound team eyeing the second apron, which is a death sentence in this salary cap environment. Trading Davis gave him a way out, or at least the beginning of one. Clearing the remaining roster will take patience, wisdom, and most of all time.
A team with Davis, who turns 33 next month, can’t really afford that luxury. Washington has clearly leaned toward a sense of urgency by trading for both Davis and Trae Young, and has announced their intention to compete for a playoff spot as soon as next season. It now has one of the most expensive rosters in the league. Davis is a tremendous player who covers the field and disrupts plays on defense with the best of them.when healthy. This warning becomes more important with each passing season, as Eddie’s injuries increase and his salary increases. The combination of the two is so prohibitive that only a small group of teams can talk about assimilating Davis’ deal and all that comes with it. As Dallas can attest, the market is just that. Washington has enough emerging talent on rookie-level contracts that it can at least try to think a little differently about finances.
This will mark a new beginning for both Davis and the Mavericks. As long as he remained in Dallas, Eddie was associated with the most disappointing moment in franchise history, his every accomplishment living up to Luka’s standard. And as long as Davis was around, the Mavericks would be burdened with everything related to the circumstances of his arrival and its cost. The move is a pity for a team and a star who were sinking into context. It may not seem like the most inspiring trade package at the moment, but this move isn’t about anything other than today. Future? Sure. past? Absolutely. This is what moving forward looks like. The real return is letting go.
Rob Mahoney
Rob covers the NBA and pop culture for The Ringer. He previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated.
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