Rich Paul won’t ‘bully’ us in Anthony Davis trade, employee says
The The Dallas Mavericks saw their name has been thrown through the rumor mill over the past few weeks, primarily regarding the big man Anthony Daviswho recently injured his arm. on Tuesday, Davis shot down the reports by ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania that he would need surgery, which Charania later corrected, and it appears the Mavericks are going full speed ahead in finding a new home for their disgruntled star.
Leading the way on Davis’ trade front has been Klutch Sports agent Rich Paul, who has never been shy about publicly using to get his clients where he wants them to go, and more recently the Mavericks staff strike back Paul’s tactics.
“‘Rich Paul won’t bully us.’ That’s a direct quote from a member of the Mavericks organization. Another member of the Mavericks organization referring to Patrick Dumont, the governor. “Patrick won’t sign just to make a deal. Ownership doesn’t feel any pressure to make an AD deal,” ESPN NBA insider Tim McMahon reported on The Hoop Collective podcast.
“Patrick has no problem going into next year and seeing a healthy Kyrie and a healthy AD next to Cooper Flagg and seeing what that looks like,” another employee added.
The Mavericks have played this entire season without Kyrie Irving, who tore his ACL last March and is still recovering. Flagg, meanwhile, has shown all the attributes that made him the number one pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, giving Dallas a potential franchise building block if they end up parting ways with Davis.
Meanwhile, Davis’ continued injury concerns and slight decline in productivity when he’s on the court have diminished his trade value, as well as the huge contract he’ll expect wherever he ends up.
Either way, the Mavericks will next take the floor on Wednesday against the Denver Nuggets.
2026-01-14 16:10:00
