The Mavericks didn’t just move on from Anthony Davis. They may have dodged a financial mess that could have gotten a whole lot uglier.
Dallas’ decision to trade Davis has already started to pay off in more than one way, even after parting with a player from the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. The move stripped away the most visible leftover from the Luka Doncic trade, and the return has already been folded into another deal that brought Santi Aldama, Marcus Sasser and the draft rights to Tarik Biberović to Dallas.
AJ Johnson and the top-20-protected 2030 Warriors first-round pick that came back in the Davis deal were among the pieces Dallas later used in that six-team trade. Aldama, fresh off a career year with the Memphis Grizzlies, gives Dusty May a flexible option off the bench and could even slide into the starting five, depending on what happens with PJ Washington.
And then there’s the contract side of this whole thing.
According to The Athletic, the Wizards will hold off on serious extension discussions with Davis until the 2026-27 season, even though he became extension-eligible on Aug. 6. If Davis turns down his $62.8 million player option for 2027-28, he could be in line for a four-year maximum extension from Washington worth about $275 million.
That alone would have been enough to make Dallas’ exit look smart. It also means the Mavericks no longer have to wrestle with the question of whether Davis should be handed another huge deal down the line.
By January, Davis’ agent, Rich Paul, was reportedly urging Dallas to trade him. Before that, though, Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont was reportedly among those in the organization who wanted to see Davis, Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving on the floor together before doing “something else drastic.”
If Dallas had gone that route, there was at least a chance the team eventually would have been forced to make a massive call on Davis’ next contract. Given his injury history, a four-year max extension for a star entering his mid-30s would have been a difficult sell.
Maybe impossible.
Instead, Dallas got out before that decision landed on its desk.
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