A 3-Team Anthony Davis Trade Idea to Shock the NBA
The Dallas Mavericks let go of the man who traded Luka Dončić, relieving general manager and president of basketball operations Nico Harrison of his duties on Tuesday. Unsurprisingly, the fanbase couldn't get past the trade, as Dončić got in shape and is leading the Los Angeles Lakers to an 8-3 start—mirroring the downtrodden 3-8 Mavericks.
The question for interim leaders Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi is: Now what? Do they try to improve the squad for a postseason run or start a proper rebuild around 18-year-old rookie Cooper Flagg?
As the first installment of a series attempting to fix the Mavericks, the following is a three-team trade idea—roping in the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets—that relocates Anthony Davis and starts the shift toward a new identity.
Full Trade Scenario
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Mavericks get
- Karl-Anthony Towns (from Knicks)
- Guerschon Yabusele (from Knicks)
- Tyler Kolek (from Knicks)
- Pacôme Dadiet (from Knicks)
- Ariel Hukporti (from Knicks)
- $4 million trade exception (Dwight Powell)
Knicks get
- Anthony Davis (from Mavericks)
- Jaden Hardy (from Mavericks)
- Brandon Williams (from Mavericks)
- Dante Exum (from Mavericks)
- Rights to Vanja Marinković (No. 60 in 2019, via the Brooklyn Nets)
- $2.8 million trade exception (Dadiet)
- $2.2 million trade exception (Kolek)
Nets get
- Dwight Powell (from Mavericks)
- $5 million (from Mavericks)
- 2027 second-round pick (from Knicks)
The trade would need to be made close to the February 5 deadline, as New York must return to the standard roster minimum of 14 via a prorated minimum player. The Mavericks aggregate Davis, Hardy, Williams and Exum for Towns, Yaubusele, Kolek and Dadiet, creating a trade exception for Powell.
The Knicks aggregate Towns, Yabusele and Hukporti for Davis and Hardy, generating trade exceptions for Dadiet and Kolek. New York acquires Williams and Exum via the minimum exception, though Exum's rights drop to non-Bird after this season via the One-Year Bird rule (he gave prior consent to a deal).
The Nets use cap room to absorb Powell, cutting Tyrese Martin's guaranteed salary (at the time of the deal) to create a roster spot.
Why the Dallas Mavericks Do It
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Fixing the Mavericks won't happen in one trade. The team needs a healthy lead guard. That could be Kyrie Irving, but he's almost 33 and still working his way back from a serious knee injury. If the 2025-26 campaign is a gap year for the Mavericks, yielding another high pick with a strong draft class may not work well with Irving's age.
Towns, almost 30, is younger than Davis, a five-time All-Star, and is fresh off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance. While he can play alongside Flagg, the age gap suggests he's not a long-term piece in Dallas. Towns has a similar contract to Davis' (about $4 million cheaper over three total seasons, player option before the final year); Dallas also adds inexpensive young players in Kolek and Dadiet while offloading Hardy's $6 million for 2026-27.
Yabusele will also turn 30 before the end of the year. The Mavericks can reroute him before the deadline or see if he can fit in as a tough but undersized scoring big. Powell, Exum, Williams and Hardy are all relatively expendable on a team that is floundering.
Dadiet played in Germany before the Knicks selected him with the No. 24 pick in 2024. Kolek, out of Marquette, was one of the best true point guards in the same draft class (No. 34). With winning secondary in the short term, coach Jason Kidd could give both players extended minutes, along with some of the team's younger talent in Dereck Lively II and Max Christie (part of the Dončić trade from the Los Angeles Lakers).
The Mavericks should entertain other trades, shedding veteran talent to help reset the books (outside of PJ Washington, whose extension was large enough to trade-restrict him this season).
The reality is that there's no Dončić-level return on the horizon for Davis, based on his age and durability. That's the risk Harrison took that ultimately cost him his job.
Why the New York Knicks Do It
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The Knicks have shown they're not a conservative team that celebrates past success. The firing of head coach Tom Thibodeau after the franchise's first Eastern Conference Finals appearance this century didn't save his job.
Mike Brown built his reputation as a defensive-minded coach who has adapted (some) to modern offensive philosophies. Still, the combination of Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson may be a defensive problem with no solution, which is why they're on the list of top duos in the NBA that may need to break up.
The talent is undeniable offensively, but can the Knicks win at the highest level while trying to guard pick-and-rolls with the two?
Conversely, if they surround Brunson with Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson and Davis, the defense could be a problem for the rest of the NBA. Davis isn't an offensive downgrade, though he's not a tremendous outside shooter (to be fair, Towns has struggled from deep under Brown).
The risk for New York is Davis' health, but if the team can successfully manage his minutes, the Knicks could be more formidable in the postseason with the defensive upgrade. Hardy, Williams and Exum (working back from a knee injury) can viably replace Kolek and Dadiet; Yabusele has yet to thrive with the team.
Why the Brooklyn Nets Do It
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The Nets are in full rebuild mode, using cap room to take on other teams' unwanted salaries (like Haywood Highsmith, Kobe Bufkin, Terance Mann, etc.). Dallas sends cash to pay for Powell's contract, enough to let Brooklyn profit in the deal.
The team also gets an unprotected second-round pick from New York. Brooklyn may make other deals before the deadline, but none should get in the way, provided it has an open roster spot for Powell and enough cap room (or the room mid-level exception) to fit in his $4 million salary.
Jalen Wilson ($325,000 guaranteed) and Tyrese Martin (non-guaranteed) have until the leaguewide cut-down date (January 7) for their $2.2 million salaries to lock in for the rest of the season. The Nets still have plenty of space if either is waived, leaving a small dead-money cap hit on the team's cap sheet.
Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on X/Twitter @EricPincus.
