Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis suffered ligament damage in his left hand during the Mavs' loss at Utah on Thursday.
Anthony Davis suffered his latest injury as he guarded the driving Lauri Markkanen on the baseline in the fourth quarter of the Dallas Mavericks' loss to the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Thursday.
Davis' left hand got caught in Markkanen's midsection area, forcing the 10-time All-Star to grimace in pain as he doubled-over and headed to the Mavs locker room for the final two minutes of the game.
It is confirmed Friday by ESPN that Davis has suffered ligament damage in his hand.
Depending on a second opinion, Davis could miss multiple months if surgery is deemed necessary.
Davis is averaging 20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in his 20 games with Dallas this season, his first full year with the team. The Mavs, 14-24 overall, are 4-14 without Davis in the lineup due to injury.
The injury comes at a brutal time for Davis, whom many expected to be dealt out of Dallas before the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline. Reports indicate that he and his agent Rich Paul are working on finding a destination that is willing to trade for Davis and give him the long-term max contract he is requesting this offseason.
Now, this latest injury plummets any trade value Davis had generated over the last few weeks.
It's also an unfortunate continuation of poor injury luck for the Mavericks, who remain without star point guard Kyrie Irving throughout this season. Irving isn't expected to return from his torn ACL until after the trade deadline, meaning team governor Patrick Dumont will not get his wish of seeing Davis, Irving and rookie sensation Cooper Flagg on the court at the same time before assessing the trade market.
Davis' intended max contract still does not coincide with the Mavs' plans to eventually build around Flagg, as financial flexibility is greatly needed before the No. 1 overall pick is due for a massive contract of his own in the years down the line.
Numerous teams have reported interest in trading for Davis - such as the Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors - but while he may get dealt, it will be an extended time before he returns to the floor in his new threads.
The timing is eerily similar to former general manager Nico Harrison's trade of Doncic, who was injured at the time but close to returning, in exchange for Davis, Max Christie and a first-round pick. Davis was also sidelined at the time of his departure from the Los Angeles Lakers.
He shined in his Mavericks debut on Feb. 8 of last year (almost a week after the trade) by scoring 26 points, grabbing 16 rebounds and dishing seven assists. He would exit the game early with an adductor strain that sat him down for weeks.
Now on the extended injury report again, Anthony Davis very well could have played his last game with the Dallas Mavericks.
But then again ... who wants him when they can hardly have him?