Anthony Davis was in the middle of a light workout inside American Airlines Center more than 2½ hours before the most anticipated meeting of the season between his current and former teams.
The Mavericks could’ve used the services of their All-Star big man during Saturday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, but Davis is sidelined for multiple weeks with a left hand sprain. He wore a protective glove over his left hand during his workout and used his right for a variety of dribbling and shooting drills under the instruction of Mavericks assistant coach Phil Handy.
“He’s working extremely hard,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “He’s putting in an effort to get back. It’s good to see your leaders out there working. Once he’s cleared to be able to play, then we’ll put him in a uniform.”
Davis’ mere presence on the court was a positive sign, but will he still be in a Mavericks uniform beyond the Feb. 5 trade deadline? The Mavericks have to decide whether to keep or part ways with him before next Thursday at 2 p.m.
Davis is their most valuable asset, but his depleted trade value following yet another injury is only one reason he could remain in Dallas, on top of his massive contract and his agent’s desire for an extension, as well as a trade market that appears to be stifled by Giannis Antetokounmpo’s complicated situation in Milwaukee.
The injury was ill-timed given his value had already plummeted after he suffered a left calf strain earlier this season. Davis won’t need surgery for the ligament damage in his left hand and is expected to heal after six weeks – well beyond the trade deadline, but enough time for an in-season return.
Any team looking to trade for Davis would need to send a combination of expiring contracts to the Mavericks to absorb Davis’ steep $54.1 million salary, which increases to $62.7 million during his player option year in 2027-28. The Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors, one team on the fringes of the play-in tournament and another looking to make a deep playoff run, shared initial interest in Davis, but reports suggest that has waned.
Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer
A team would also presumably need to be open to making a long-term commitment to the 32-year-old big man, with Davis’ agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, preparing to secure a contract extension for his client, either from the Mavericks or a rival team.
A recent ESPN report suggested Paul believes it’s in Davis’ best interest to be traded, but the forward hasn’t pushed for it and is comfortable in Dallas. Paul addressed the report on his podcast, Game Over, with co-host Max Kellerman.
“It’s not like you want a guy moved just for the sake of being moved,” Paul said before Kellerman clarified that the discussion was about Davis. “If a guy is happy where they are, great. You care about people’s families. You care about the guy’s well-being, and you care if they’re happy.
“Now, from a business perspective, you want guys to be positioned and you want guys to be paid. I really don’t care where the money comes from.”
The Mavericks were granted a lifeline when they won the draft lottery last year and selected Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft. The team’s injury woes have created a unique opportunity for the franchise to build around their 19-year-old rookie, especially since 2026 is the last draft in which they own control of their first-round pick until 2031.
Paul didn’t specifically say the Mavericks when making a point about how NBA owners view timelines, but the analogy aligns with their situation.
“The way things work as it pertains to trades, everything is based upon a timeline,” Paul said. “If your best player is 25 years old, you’re going to try to build a team around that timeline, age, etc. If your best player is 19 years old, same thing. If your best player is 33 years old, then probably not so much because you still want to be younger, but now you want to have young players that understand how to embrace a role and understand how to play the game at a high level.”
A few players on the roster fit a timeline suited around Flagg, including Max Christie and Naji Marshall, who is being mentioned around the NBA as a quality trade target given his production this season and team-friendly contract.
The Mavericks could wait until the offseason to explore a trade for Davis if they aren’t satisfied with the market. If Davis remains on the roster next season alongside Kyrie Irving and second-year Cooper Flagg, who this week was named to the 2026 Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star Weekend, they’d be in a prime position to return to the playoffs as long as that core remains healthy.
Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont reportedly wants to see the trio of Davis, Irving and Flagg on the floor before making any premature decisions. Kidd was asked about the possibility of all three playing alongside each other this season.
“We would love to see that in ’26,” Kidd said. “There’s no guarantee. The only thing that we can focus on are those guys in uniform that can play. That’s what we’ve done. Until we get closer for Kai or closer for AD, then we can start paying a little bit more attention to that. But for right now, those guys are out for some time.”
The Mavericks remain in information-gathering mode, but time is ticking.
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