Will Anthony Davis Get Traded? Mavs Insider Explains Process amid Landing Spot Rumors
One of the reasons the Dallas Mavericks are being so cautious with Anthony Davis' as he recovers from a calf strain is because his trade value largely hinges on him being able to show he is still an impact player.
Per The Athletic's Christian Clark, the Mavericks need Davis "to get back on the floor so he can rebuild his value" before they can seriously consider trading him.
If Davis does become available in a trade, ESPN's Kendrick Perkins went on The Road Trippin' podcast to say that he has heard the Detroit Pistons are a team that would have "a lot of interest" in acquiring him.
The Mavs announced on Nov. 16 that Davis would be out at least another seven to 10 days.
ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported the same day that Davis and his medical team had targeted the Nov. 8 game against the Washington Wizards for his return, but Mavs governor Patrick Dumont "stepped in" to slow things down on the advice of Johann Bilsborough, the team's director of health and performance.
Dumont's point, per MacMahon, is he wants "medical metrics" that prove Davis isn't at risk of "aggravating the calf strain or suffering a related, potentially catastrophic injury" before letting him back on the floor.
Given that Davis the best trade asset the Mavericks have—at least among actual options since it would seem unlikely Cooper Flagg gets moved, but you can never rule anything out with this franchise anymore—the caution they are displaying with him makes perfect sense.
MacMahon pointed out that Davis "rushed back" from an abdominal injury to play his first home game with the Mavericks on Feb. 8 after being traded from the Los Angeles Lakers in the Luka Dončić deal.
Davis was great in a 116-105 win over the Houston Rockets, finishing with 26 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists. But he left in the third quarter due to a left adductor strain and missed the next 18 games.
The 10-time All-Star appeared in the first five games this season before suffering a strained calf in the first quarter of Dallas' 107-105 win over the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 29.
Prior to the injury, Davis was putting up numbers that are typical for him. He averaged 20.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game during that stretch.
Davis has only played in 14 of a possible 48 games with the Mavs since the trade. His injury woes combined with having two guaranteed years remaining on his contract plus a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28 makes it hard for interested teams to give up a lot in return right now.
The Mavs need to maximize their return if they deal Davis because after the 2026 draft, they don't control their first-round pick again until 2031.
