The cost of trading away Luka Doncic and dealing with Anthony Davis’ injury issues is the price that the Mavericks paid to draft Cooper Flagg as the No. 1 overall pick this summer. And now it seems the price is still rising as the Mavericks seem to be torn between the devil and the deep sea with Anthony Davis.
According to Shams Charania, the Mavericks are expected to take trade calls for Anthony Davis, despite what Mark Cuban recently said about the franchise’s intent with the power forward. He believes the franchise is now focused on rebuilding around Cooper Flagg following Nico Harrison’s firing.
“This franchise is moving away from Nico Harrison’s three-to-four-year championship window and toward trying to find sustained success and sustained growth around Cooper Flagg,” said Charania on ESPN’s NBA Today.
“And to that end, sources have told ESPN that the Mavericks will be listening to trade calls for Anthony Davis to see and explore his value, and for that, health will be the biggest key. Not only for the Mavericks to evaluate Anthony Davis over an extended period of time on the court, but for other teams to see what he looks like when he’s back, what this team looks like when he’s back, a lot of evaluation to come.”
To be clear, this does not mean that the Mavericks are hell-bent on trading Anthony Davis, but they have still not taken the option off the table. This could be their way of adding pressure on Davis to decide his own future by working harder on his return, or simply a way for them to gauge the market demand for Anthony Davis at present, as reports claimed they plan to do.
Taking trade calls, of course, means that negotiations are potentially possible, which could help the Mavericks make up their mind on what to do with Davis. But the part about the Mavericks refocusing on building around Cooper Flagg instead of prematurely considering themselves championship contenders is a major reality check for the best course available for the franchise.
Anthony Davis has played only five of the Mavericks’ 15 games this season, due to which the franchise has fallen to a 4-11 record so far. But in the games he played, he averaged 20.8 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists, while shooting 52% from the field. Therefore, some teams could still see some value in trading for him.
Meanwhile, Cooper Flagg has played in all 15 games for the Mavericks, averaging 15.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.1 assists, while shooting 45.5% from the field.
The Mavericks need another ticket-selling blockbuster like Doncic to revive their franchise from heavy operational losses in revenue from trading their former franchise player. And they seem to have realized that Anthony Davis might not be that guy, and if given the right space to develop, Flagg could be that player for them.
But one thing is clear: among all the drama behind Nico Harrison’s firing and trading Luka Doncic, the franchise is years away from being in championship contention. And we could wake up one day this season to the news of Anthony Davis getting traded away from the Mavericks.
