Bold Prediction Sees Anthony Davis Trade Coming for Mavericks

Is Anthony Davis a trade candidate for the Dallas Mavericks?

It was the most shocking trade in NBA history. The Dallas Mavericks stunned the basketball world by trading superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. Mavericks GM Nico Harrison insisted that there was a method to his madness ("defense wins championships... yada yada").

But is there a chance that he could turn around and trade Anthony Davis this coming year? That's one of the "bold predictions" from Dan Favale in Bleacher Report. And it all has to do with their incoming No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft, power forward Cooper Flagg.

Anthony Davis fits the "Defense over everything" ideology revered by Dallas Mavericks president of basketball operations Nico Harrison. He no longer fits the long-term direction of the organization...
The Mavs may not care to admit it just yet, but Flagg and their surrounding circumstances have thrust them into a different timeline—one that no longer jibes with the 32-year-old Davis' own.

It's obvious that the 18-year-old Flagg just isn't on the same timeline as the aging and oft-injured AD.

"Winning the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes materially changes the Mavs' arc," he writes. "He isn't some add-on you attempt to integrate. He is the cornerstone around whom you build out everything and everyone else."

If the Mavs still hold these notions of contending for a title this coming season, even without Kyrie Irving for the first several months, they shouldn't risk stunting Flagg's development in a 'win at all costs' push. Davis should be moved, he suggests, for pieces that fit better around Flagg going forward.

In summation, the thought is that the Mavs should start to consider a trade of Davis, if not this summer, then by the trade deadline in February.