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Only 1 NBA Team Can Rescue Anthony Davis From His Dallas Mavericks Fate
Anthony Davis is running out of options.
The five-time All-NBAer reportedly wants to be traded from the Dallas Mavericks, because he doesn't think they'll extend his contract, according to Sam Amick and Christian Clark of The Athletic.
For their part, the Mavs are apparently hoping to see what AD looks like alongside Cooper Flagg and the currently injured Kyrie Irving before making any long-term decisions.
League sources also told Amick and Clark that the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors loom as potential suitors for Dallas' big man. Davis is believed to be on board with either of them.
Yet, the Hawks added a wrinkle to the short list by trading Trae Young to the Washington Wizards. It is now ultra-difficult for them to acquire Davis and stay beneath the tax without including Zaccharie Risacher—who is so far off-limits in talks with Dallas, per Marc Stein of The Stein Line.
Enter the Raptors. And, perhaps, only the Raptors.
Other teams could come out of the woodwork. As we continue to see, though, squads aren't as willing to mortgage any part of their future for expensive, aging, injury-prone and/or deeply flawed stars.
Going on 33, with the most checkered of health bills and a $62.8 million player option looming in 2027-28, Davis covers at least three of the four aforementioned areas of concern.
Unless the Golden State Warriors warm up to the idea of trading Draymond Green or Jimmy Butler, Toronto could be AD's last realistic hope of extricating himself from Dallas this season.
Full Trade Details
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Toronto Raptors Receive: Anthony Davis, Anthony Gill
Dallas Mavericks Receive: Jakob Poeltl, Immanuel Quickley, Toronto's 2027 first-round pick (unprotected), Toronto's 2028 first-round pick (swap), Toronto's 2029 first-round pick (top-five protection; turns into 2029 and 2030 seconds if not conveyed)
Washington Wizards Receive: Jaden Hardy, Ochai Agbaji, Los Angeles Lakers' 2026 second-round pick (via Toronto), Toronto's 2032 second-round pick
*Note: Washington is able to take on Agbaji and Hardy using traded player exceptions and/or its mid-level exception.
Why The Toronto Raptors Do It
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In: Anthony Davis, Anthony Gill
Out: Ochai Agbaji, Jakob Poeltl, Immanuel Quickley, Lakers' 2026 second-round pick, 2027 first-round pick, 2028 first-round pick (swap), 2029 first-round pick (top-five protection), 2032 second-round pick
Forking over control of three first-round picks for a soon-to-be 33-year-old hoping to land an extension doesn't sit right in a vacuum. But at least one—and potentially both—of the contracts Toronto ships to Dallas is underwater. Without a blue-chip prospect to include, inflating the number of first-rounders is the most effective way to compensate the Mavs for taking on money they would otherwise reject.
A frontline rotation that has AD, Scottie Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles is defensive dynamite, especially when RJ Barrett and Brandon Ingram offer plenty of size on the perimeter.
Incorporating Davis' shaky jumper poses some offensive challenges, particularly with Quickley's shooting and playmaking headed out the door. But the Raptors are used to running half-court sets with Poeltl, another non-spacer, and IQ isn't providing nearly enough shooting and playmaking these days to be considered integral.
Guys such as Jamison Battle and Sandro Mamukelashvili nevertheless become more paramount to opening the floor. The Raptors will need Gradey Dick and Ja'Kobe Walter to find more happy mediums from the outside, too.
Barnes, Ingram and Jamal Shead can provide enough table-setting in the interim, and Toronto can always poke around floor generals in subsequent trades now or over the summer. Also of note: It's saving $2 million as part of this deal—enough to get out of the tax and fill out the roster.
This is not a move the Raptors can make with a roadmap for extending Davis over the offseason. Ideally, he would decline his 2027-28 player option and put pen to paper on a contract that guarantees him more overall money at a discounted annual rate. If he's looking for the full freight, well, he's kidding himself, and Toronto should steer clear.
Why The Dallas Mavericks Do It
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In: Jakob Poeltl, Immanuel Quickley, Toronto's 2027 first-round pick, Toronto's 2028 first-round pick (swap), Toronto's 2029 first-round pick (top-five protection)
Out: Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy
Let's start with the elephants in the room: the Poeltl and Quickley contracts. The former has four years and $103.6 million left on his deal after this season, and the latter is on the books for another three years and $97.5 million.
Both are overpaid relative to their value right now. That doesn't have to be a deal-breaker for the Mavs.
The best version of Quickley is a euphoric fit beside Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving—an active defender who can drill threes on the catch and off the bounce and add a dab of two-level playmaking. Rolling the dice on his deal, which averages about 18.7 percent of the salary cap, shouldn't take much convincing.
Poeltl is a different story. Dallas will have Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford on the books after moving Anthony Davis, and Poeltl's back issues are a red flag. Still, while his deal seemingly goes on forever, it averages 14.4 percent of the salary cap. That's borderline backup money, and he's a nice hedge against Lively continuing to battle injuries or the front office eventually shipping out Gafford.
Bagging control of three Raptors first-round picks is big-time under the circumstances. Dallas doesn't currently have a first in 2027, and the right to swap with Toronto in 2028 should prove exercisable since the Oklahoma City Thunder can swap their own pick with the Mavericks' that year.
Though the 2029 first-rounder is protected, it post-dates Davis' contract. And even if he's still in Toronto, the pick conveys on the heels of his age-35 season.
Getting out from the final guaranteed year of Jaden Hardy's contract is an added bonus for Dallas. It also shaves over $8.1 million off this season's payroll, leaving it around $8.8 million above the tax line—a manageable enough number for it to potentially duck the tax entirely before the league calendar resets.
Why The Washington Wizards Do It
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In: Ochai Agbaji, Jaden Hardy, Lakers' 2026 second-round pick, Toronto's 2032 second-round pick
Out: Anthony Gill
Taking a rest-of-the-year flier on Ochai Agbaji, a restricted free agent this summer, is right up the Wizards' alley. They are down one wing after shipping Corey Kispert to Atlanta, and Cam Whitmore's shoulder injury leaves room for further experimentation.
If Washington plans on playing Trae Young at all this season (a fairly large if), having Agbaji's defensive malleability in the rotation can be part of the insulation plan. And in the event he starts hitting threes again, even better.
Jaden Hardy has one more guaranteed year left on his deal, plus a 2027-28 team option. Soaking up that $6 million is no sweat off the Wizards' back. They project to have $45-plus million in cap space over the summer even if Young exercises his player option, and at 23, Hardy's scoring upside is not without hope.
Scooping up a pair of second-rounders to lease out room beneath the tax this year, plus a small portion of cap space next year, doesn't sound like much. But Washington isn't adding a ton of money, and the players it's taking on aren't zero-business-being-in-the-NBA types.
Parting with Anthony Gill's locker room leadership may actually be the toughest sell. If that's the case, the Wizards can rework or expand the deal to feature other players and moving parts or just keep Gill and waive Malaki Branham or AJ Johnson.
Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
