The Dallas Mavericks host the Boston Celtics Tuesday night just over 36 hours until the NBA trade deadline.
The NBA trade deadline is now less than two days away.
After Thursday, Feb. 5, at 2 p.m. CST teams will no longer be able to swap players for the remainder of the season.
For the Dallas Mavericks, as expected, this is a major opportunity to officially declare what direction the franchise is taking with its roster.
Trade Anthony Davis? Someone else? Or keep this group intact and hope for better health luck in 2026-27.
Unfortunately for Dallas, the long-term injuries to Davis, Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively II and others have made it impossible to see what this current roster can do on the court together.
It makes for an even harder decision ahead of this week's deadline.
Until, Dallas welcomes the Boston Celtics for a rematch of the 2024 Finals on Tuesday. It is the Mavericks' final game until the phone lines are cut off on Thursday.
There has already been high-profile action on Tuesday with the Memphis Grizzlies moving on from Jaren Jackson Jr. Also, reports have indicated that there are still potential buyers interested in Davis, the Mavs' 10-time All-Star forward who is out with a hand injury.
ESPN reports that the Cleveland Cavaliers have been in contact with the Mavs about trading for Davis. The Cavs, currently fifth-place in the Eastern Conference, have also reportedly reached out to the Milwaukee Bucks about getting in on the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, though it's unclear if either move is favored over another or if they're both in the works simultaneously.
Davis doesn't hold a ton of value like he once has, but another Maverick does.
Naji Marshall, the two-way slasher who is averaging career bests this season, is reportedly fielding a lot of attention, but Dallas has made it clear that they do not want to part ways with him.
A player that is getting callers but is more likely to get dealt is center Daniel Gafford.
Backup centers are premium real estate in the NBA, and while Gafford has started a lot for the Mavs with Davis and Lively injured, he would still likely be targeted by a contender looking for a reliable rim-running backup big to solidify depth for a playoff run. We saw how valuable "Gaff" was in that role when the Mavs made it to the Finals just a season and a half ago.
As the Mavericks inevitably move all-in on building around rookie sensation Cooper Flagg - who just earned his third consecutive Rookie of the Month award, tying Luka Doncic for the only time that's happened in Dallas - these next few days will determine the future of the franchise.
Dumping contracts like Davis and Gafford will allow the most flexibility needed to feature Flagg moving forward, but committing to patience and going into next season with a healthy trio of Davis, Irving and Flagg remains a possibility. That might require Dallas to forget about competing this season so that it's 2026 draft pick - the only draft selection the team owns for the next handful of years - is as good a prospect as possible.
Time will tell which path is taken.
And the clock is ticking.
