Mavs deal Anthony Davis, fueling Luka Doncic trade fallout. A haul of picks and new talent arrives as Dallas reshapes its future.
DALLAS - The Dallas Mavericks are following through on their much-rumored goodbye to Anthony Davis, sending the oft-injured 10-time All-Star to the Washington Wizards.
A year, ago, A.D. was the centerpiece get in the Mavs' much-maligned trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Now, that centerpiece here has been erased - though this trade won't erase the sting of Mavs fans still haunted by the Luka deal.
This trade, according to ESPN, also means that Jaden Hardy, D’Angelo Russell, and Dante Exum will head to Washington.
In return, the Mavericks will receive Khris Middleton, A.J. Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, two first-round picks, and three second-rounders, sources told ESPN.
Maybe there is some value in those first-rounders - exactly the sort of reward that Dallas never did get for Doncic.
It seems those first-round picks will be ones that once belonged to the OKC Thunder and to the Golden State Warriors. And the second-rounders are reportedly Phoenix’s 2026 pick, Chicago’s 2027 pick, and Houston’s 2029 selection.
Davis, sidelined by a hand injury since early January, is averaging 20.1 points and 11.1 rebounds over 20 games this season. ... and that production was among the reasons some in the organization preferred to keep him, hoping that he might team with the injured Kyrie Irving and teenage star Cooper Flagg to create a winning core.
But also in play in the decision? He has played a total of 29 games since being acquired by the Mavs, making him literally impossible to count on as a core piece.