Golden State Warriors fans have long yearned to have a star big man on their roster, and it appeared for a little while that their wish might be coming true soon. A rumor recently started doing the rounds about the Warriors discussing an Anthony Davis trade with the Dallas Mavericks, but ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel has made it clear that no such deal is in the works.
“There is zero truth to the Warriors-Anthony Davis rumor. Golden State has NOT contacted Dallas about Davis, nor do they intend to this season.”
The Mavericks are reportedly willing to listen to trade offers for Davis, but the Warriors aren’t expected to call them. That’s not a direction they’re planning to go in.
This rumor seemed a little bit questionable anyway, as it stated that preliminary discussions had been held about swapping Davis and Jimmy Butler. While the 12-12 Warriors could use an upgrade at the center spot, parting with Butler in the process would have been far from ideal. It wouldn’t have brought them all that closer to winning a title.
Butler is averaging 19.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game in 2025-26. He isn’t putting up huge numbers, but has been impactful. The numbers make that clear: the Warriors have a +6.3 net rating when Butler is on the court.
Davis, meanwhile, hasn’t quite been at his best this season for a Mavericks team that is currently 9-16. He is averaging 19.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game. Those would be good numbers for most bigs, but not Davis. Injuries haven’t helped, and they are another reason why parting with Butler for him wouldn’t have made sense.
Davis has already missed 15 games this season for the Mavericks. He’s an injury-prone 32-year-old big man, and whichever team trades for him is taking a risk. To go with this, Davis is also in the first year of a massive three-year, $175 million deal. Those two factors mean the trade market for him isn’t as strong as expected.
Still, Davis reportedly expects to be traded, and you wonder where he will end up if he gets moved. The Chicago Bulls have been touted as a potential destination, but we don’t think they should be going for him. It could turn out to be a big mistake.
Getting back to the Warriors, parting with Butler doesn’t make sense in this scenario, but there is another where it would. Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo could ask out in the coming weeks, depending on his and his agent’s conversations with the team. If Antetokounmpo does, the Warriors would likely be willing to give up any of their valuable pieces, except Stephen Curry, for him.
It has been predicted that the Warriors would include Draymond Green and various other assets in their trade proposal for Antetokounmpo. It would be a bold move, but one that would turn them into serious title contenders.
The Warriors are going nowhere as things stand. This would be the Hail Mary to potentially win one or two more titles in the Curry era.
