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By Alex Kirschenbaum
Contributing Entertainment Writer
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At 12-20 on the year, the Dallas Mavericks hardly look like world-beaters this season. With nine-time All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving still sidelined, the Mavericks have struggled to get much backcourt scoring — although rookie phenom Cooper Flagg is rounding into form nicely, and Dallas boasts a talented frontcourt beyond him.
But in the Western Conference, that's not enough to compete against the likes of the 26-5 Oklahoma City Thunder, the 23-7 San Antonio Spurs, the 22-8 Denver Nuggets, the 20-11 Minnesota Timberwolves, or the 18-10 Houston Rockets. All those clubs boast significantly more balanced, coherent rosters, with plenty of youth and verve in the backcourt.
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Still, the Mavericks are just 0.5 games out of the West's No. 10 seed, meaning they have a decent shot at finishing as a play-in tournament squad.
With the 19-year-old Flagg now the focal point of Dallas' future, his well-compensated, 32-year-old teammate Anthony Davis suddenly finds himself expendable.
This year, Davis has logged averages of 20.5 points on 52.1 percent shooting from the field and 71 percent from the charity stripe, 10.9 rebounds, 2.8 dishes, 1.6 rejections and 1.3 swipes.
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According to Chris Haynes of Prime Video, the Atlanta Hawks could be in the market for Davis' services this season.
The 15-17 Hawks — losers of five straight games — had Eastern Conference Finals heading into the year. Now, they're the East's No. 10 seed, barely clinging to postseason contention.
"Sources tell me that the Atlanta Hawks remain very intrigued with the possibility of acquiring Anthony Davis via a trade. Now the Hawks, out of all the suitors out there that are interested, the Hawks... possess a pretty attractive asset package that could make things interesting. But if you look at where AD is at in his career, he has this season and next season left [on his current deal] and after that, he could become a free agent with a player option. So any teams that try to acquire him will have to really consider giving him an extension."
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He's owed $112.5 million across these next two seasons, and has a $62.8 million player option in 2027-28.
To be clear, no one should feel obligated to pay a guy who's missed 36 percent of his games since the 2020-21 season any kind of extension. Given his worsening health woes over the years, maybe it would behoove a team to see how Davis performs in his new NBA home before committing significant long-term money to him.
What Will It Cost Atlanta To Trade For Anthony Davis?
Then again, it might cost an arm and a leg just to acquire the future Hall of Famer.
"And so with that being said, if a deal was able to materialize between the Hawks and Dallas Mavericks, I was told it would not involve Trae Young," Haynes revealed. "Dallas would likely want expiring deals, young assets and picks, and [is] probably likely to include the No. 1 pick from last season, Zach Rissacher, [among its demands]."
The 6-foot-8 small forward, 20, has been averaging 11.1 points while slashing .459/.336/.675, 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in his 28 bouts with Atlanta this year.
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