3 Reasons Mavericks Shouldn’t Consider Trading Anthony Davis After Firing Nick Harrison

On the first day of February this year, the NBA was rocked by one of the most incredible trades of all time. The Dallas Mavericksless than a year after making the NBA Finals, they decided to overhaul their roster — selling their star Luka Dončićalong with longtime teammate Maxi Kleber, to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony DavisMax Christie, and the Purple and Gold’s unprotected first-round pick in 2029.

That trade remains as stunning as it was when it was first announced. Many fans thought that ESPN’s Shams Charania, the man who broke the news, was not in control of his social media accounts. He had to clarify that they were Mavericksindeed, they decided to trade their superstar, who had been with the team since entering the league in 2018, for an older, more injury-prone star.

General Director Nico Harrison had to defend the trade saying that “defense wins championships” and that Davis gives the Mavericks a better shot at winning not only now, but in the future. But fast-forward nine months later, and Harrison will no longer be around to reap the rewards of the risk he took (if he could even bear it). The The Mavs decided they could Harrisonremoving him from the post of CEO.

The bill came due for Harrison; will the same come for Daviswho might end up being bought on the trade market now that his main front office patron is gone?

However, here are a few reasons for that why the Mavericks shouldn’t pull the trigger on a Davis trade but still, even though there was a changing of the guard in the team’s confidence.

Trading Anthony Davis now would be selling low

No one can ever question Davis’ impact on the court when healthy. He is one of the most versatile big men in the NBA, and one of the fiercest rim protectors in the league. He’s adept at every type of defensive coverage, and even now at 32 years old, his presence warrants a first-half finish in defenses in the league.

But as Davis gets older, the greater the risk of injury. That’s what made the Mavericks’ decision to go out of their way to pursue him and downplay Doncic in exchange for him even more of a no-brainer. Davis played in 76 games during the 2023-24 season, but has missed at least 26 games in five of the previous seven seasons.

It’s not like Davis has a chronic problem anywhere in his body. His style of play (bruising) simply makes him much more vulnerable to such hits. What was so unfortunate for the Mavericks was that he suffered a groin injury early in his tenure with the team back in February, and to start the 2025-26 campaign he was dealing with a calf injury.

Davis should have several suitors on the trade market if he is made available. He has at least two years remains on his contract (with a 2027-28 option worth $62.8 million), and any team looking for frontcourt reinforcements could use the 10-time All-Star without fear of losing him immediately in free agency.

But given how much he’s making and his propensity for injury, the market for him is going to be very limited. It’s hard to pick which team would go all out to trade for Davis. Could the emerging Blazers decide to put all their chips on the table? Will the star-starved Bulls be aggressive in pursuit of Davis? Perhaps the Pistons would like to cement themselves as the team to beat in the East.

But acquiring Davis would require a significant commitment from teams that such a trade is difficult to pull off in the middle of the season. Furthermore, it’s not like the Mavericks can come close to the value they gave up just to acquire the 10-time All-Star.

Simply put, the idea of ​​a Davis trade should be presented by the end of the season. Keeping him in town at least through the end of the 2025-26 campaign should give the Mavericks a clearer sense of where they’re headed moving forward — and an idea of ​​whether keeping Davis actually makes at least a little bit of sense.

This current Mavericks core hasn’t been given a fair shot

This is not to say that Harrison was on to something when he traded Doncic for Davis — not even close. That remains stupidest decision in the history of professional sports. But this Mavericks franchise has yet to see what the team is capable of when at full strength.

When it will be in full force remains to be seen. Kyrie Irving won’t be back until January at the earliest, and even then he’ll be subject to some workload limitations given his age (33, turning 34 in March) and long absence from a torn ACL.

But a starting lineup of Irving, Davis, Cooper Flagg, PJ Washington and Max Christie doesn’t sound too bad. Head coach Jason Kidd could even put Derek Lively II or Daniel Gafford in place of Washington if they need more size in the frontcourt.

They should at least try this core. If they can’t stay healthy or fail to compete in the West, then they’ll pull the plug.

Firing Davis would be an admission of defeat

Firing Harrison was essentially a confession that they messed up Dončić’s trade. But giving up the major piece they got for their former franchise star would simply add insult to injury.

Davis, of course, is a great two-way player when healthy. He is not a player of the caliber of Doncic, but he is not such a bad player to build around him. Buying after Harrison’s firing will simply worsen the optics of a trade, if it’s even possible.