In the aftermath of the firing of Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, the future of multiple Mavs seems to be up in the air. But no player would appear to have more doubt cast on their near or long-term future in Dallas than Anthony Davis.
Davis, one of the NBA's best defenders over the past decade, was the centerpiece of the return for Luka Doncic in the February trade that ultimately cost Harrison his job. Along with Max Christie and a future first-round draft pick, Davis arrived in Dallas with impossibly high expectations, considering the five-time first-team All-NBA selection for whom he was swapped. Unfortunately, he has been unable to live up to anywhere near those expectations.
So with Harrison, the man who brought him in, out the proverbial door, could the Mavericks send Davis packing too? Possibly, and if they do, Zach Lowe thinks the Los Angeles Clippers could be an interesting and “desperate” albeit potentially unrealistic suitor.
“[They're] hard-capped at the first apron, and not that far under it, which makes the math very difficult,” Lowe said on ‘The Zach Lowe Show'. “[…] You’d have to build it around [John] Collins, [Bogdan] Bogdanovic, 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 say picks? I mean, the Clippers do control, I think at least one pick, maybe two down the line.”
Trading Collins, Bogdanovic, and Jones, the three-highest-paid Clippers aside from Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, would come to $52.87 million in salaries to Dallas, which would be sending back Davis and his $54.13 million. With the complications of the respective aprons, Lowe said that the Brooklyn Nets are effectively “waiting” to jump in a trade like this to facilitate it as the third team and extract some draft picks or valuable contracts.
Whether the Clippers would be willing to make a trade like that remains to be seen. One complication, it would seem, is Davis's availability or lack thereof.
Since joining the Mavericks more than nine months ago, Davis has been able to play just 16 of a potential 47 games (including the 2025 Play-In) due to injuries, which have nagged him throughout his entire professional career. His current injury, a calf strain, is also a particularly difficult one for which to gauge the return timetable, and it could scare off the Clippers or other potential suitors.
Davis has missed the Mavs' last seven games, including tonight's home meeting with the Phoenix Suns.
