ESPN’s Zach Lowe floated that a crazy possibility on The Zach Lowe Show, suggesting that the Los Angeles Clippers could make a trade for Anthony Davis if they decide to shake up their struggling roster.
“Well, you’d have to build it around Collins, Bogdanovich, Brook Lopez, or Derrick Jones Jr. as the third guy. And even that comes up a little short of how much the Clippers would need to send out to stay clear of the first apron. And you want to talk about picks? I mean, the Clippers do control, I think, at least one pick, maybe two down the line.”
From a financial standpoint, the math adds up. Davis is owed $54 million this season and another $121 million over the next two years. Under the NBA’s new CBA restrictions, the Clippers would have to send out roughly $51–53 million to stay under the first apron. That’s where players like John Collins, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and one of either Brook Lopez or Derrick Jones Jr. come in.
Collins earns $26.5 million, Bogdanovic is on a $16 million deal, Jones Jr. will make $10 million, and Lopez makes $8.7 million this season. A combination of those three salaries would total just over $51 or 52 million, close enough to make the trade legal under the league’s cap rules.
The Clippers also have draft assets to sweeten the deal, including first-round picks in 2030 and 2032 and a potential first-round pick swap in 2031. Lowe outlined a scenario where Los Angeles sends two picks and a swap to Dallas, clearing Davis’ contract while giving the Mavericks long-term flexibility.
The move would make sense for both sides. The Mavericks, now 3–8 and sitting near the bottom of the West, appear ready to start over after firing general manager Nico Harrison. The team has reportedly acknowledged that the Luka Doncic trade to the Lakers was a franchise-changing mistake.
With Davis’ health again becoming a concern, this could be the right time to move him while his value remains solid, even though initial reports suggest he could stay for a while at least.
For the Clippers, the motivation is obvious. Their ‘win-now’ roster of James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Bradley Beal, Chris Paul, Brook Lopez, and Ivica Zubac hasn’t worked. A 3–7 start has left them searching for direction. Adding Davis would instantly give them an elite interior scorer and rim protector, something they’ve lacked for years.
For Davis, it could be a homecoming. He still owns a house in Los Angeles and has maintained close ties with several former Lakers teammates.
A move across the hallway at Intuit Dome would reunite him with the city where he won the 2020 title and give the Clippers a defensive anchor to pair with Kawhi Leonard. If both stay healthy, it could form one of the league’s best two-way frontcourts.
There’s no deal on the table yet, but Lowe’s comments reflect a growing belief around the league: the Mavericks’ Anthony Davis experiment is nearing its end, and the Clippers have the right mix of contracts, assets, and urgency to make a blockbuster possible.
If that happens, it won’t just reshape the Clippers, it could redefine the final chapter of Davis’ career in Los Angeles.
