[MacMahon] The Mavericks negotiated their Anthony Davis trade with the Wizards without telling him or Rich Paul beforehand
Minutes into his Dallas Mavericks debut, Anthony Davis threw down a thunderous putback dunk and delivered an impromptu proclamation to a fan base in the early stages of the mourning process stemming from the most stunning trade in NBA history.
“I’m here!” Davis shouted after strutting toward the sideline, animatedly pointing to the American Airlines Center court. “I’m here!”
Then he wasn’t. After dominating the first half that afternoon – when the most prominent story was the large pregame protest by angry fans outside the arena – Davis went down with an adductor strain midway through the third quarter. That injury sidelined the 10-time All-Star for six weeks and set the tone for his brief stint with the Mavs.
Davis, the headliner in the return of the blockbuster deal that shipped beloved face of the franchise Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers months after he led the Mavs to the NBA Finals, ultimately wasn’t on that floor very often.
Davis played just 29 regular-season games for the Mavs, plus a couple of play-in appearances, due to a series of injuries. The Davis-Kyrie Irving duo that then-Dallas general manager Nico Harrison bet would be the foundation of a championship contender for “three to four years” played less than three quarters together, as Irving suffered a torn ACL in early March and still has no firm timetable for his return to play.
Davis’ time in Dallas ended with a whimper at this trade deadline. He was dealt to the Washington Wizards in what amounted to a massive salary dump a few months after fan outrage drove team governor Patrick Dumont’s decision to fire Harrison.
Nothing Dallas’ front office, led by co-interim general managers Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi, did at the trade deadline would make the Doncic deal any less of a disaster. The financially motivated move they decided to execute was viewed purely through the prism of teenage phenom Cooper Flagg.
The silver lining in the Mavs’ misery occurred through sheer luck. A team built to win now failed enough to cash in 1.8% odds of winning the draft lottery, delivering Flagg to Dallas and gifting the franchise another chance to build around a generational prospect. Now the pressure is on the franchise to make smart decisions and not squander the opportunity.
“Crystal clear on the intent: It’s the Cooper Flagg era, no ifs, ands or buts,” a high-ranking team source told ESPN.
THE MAVS’ RETURN on the Davis trade was essentially nine figures of financial relief and the roster-building flexibility that comes with it, along with some middling draft capital, including Oklahoma City’s first-round pick in June’s draft and Golden State’s top-20-protected pick in 2030. Second-year guard AJ Johnson is the only player the Mavs acquired in the trade who isn’t on an expiring contract.
Dallas went from having the NBA’s fourth-highest payroll to dipping under the luxury tax this season by including guards D’Angelo Russell, Jaden Hardy and Dante Exum in the trade. The franchise went from having an estimated payroll of \(326 million, including luxury tax, to approximately half of that. It also gained access to the \)15.1 million nontaxpayer midlevel exception and a nearly $21 million trade exception, both of which could help as it looks to build a future around Flagg.
“I think we had to take an honest look at ourselves in the mirror and look at where we were and where we wanted to be,” Riccardi said after the trade. “Sometimes the path is not straightforward. Sometimes you have to go a little roundabout way to get where you want to go.”
When Flagg was drafted, he anticipated beginning his career on a playoff team alongside Davis and eventually Irving, both former No. 1 picks and future Hall of Famers.
Instead, Davis played only 20 games this season. Irving remains a key part of the Mavs’ plans, but it is uncertain if he will play at all this season. The popular opinion of rival executives is that the Mavs, who are seventh in the lottery standings with a 19-34 record, would be wise to put Irving’s return on hold until training camp, even if he’s cleared to return this season.
“It has been different obviously to what I expected, but just doing the best I can,” said Flagg, the Rookie of the Year front-runner who is averaging 20.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. “It was tough at first, that much losing. … Obviously, it still is. I’m a competitor, but I think for me it’s just about learning from the losses as much as I can and taking the positives away.”
The Mavs began exploring trade options for Davis immediately after Harrison was fired in November, when Dallas had a 3-8 record and Davis was recovering from a calf strain. Davis’ maximum contract – which includes a $62.8 million player option for the 2027-28 season – and his desire for a lucrative extension and durability issues made finding value extremely difficult.
Rich Paul, Klutch Sports CEO and Davis’ agent, was determined to position his client for another payday when he becomes extension-eligible this summer. He attempted to help the Mavs negotiate deals with the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors, but the discussions with the Hawks went dormant after Davis suffered ligament damage in his left hand during a Jan. 8 loss to the Utah Jazz, an injury the Mavs announced would be healed by late February. The Mavs would have had to take back significant salary beyond this season in any deal with the Raptors, making Toronto a tough fit as a trade partner.
The Mavs negotiated with the Wizards without the knowledge of Davis and Paul, who weren’t aware Washington was a serious suitor until the trade was done.
Sources said there was some concern from Dumont about how Mavs fans would react to a Davis deal that didn’t include premium draft picks or players who fit into the franchise’s long-term plans as part of the return.
But Flagg’s presence and production – he’s on pace to join Doncic, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird as the only rookies to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and four assists per game since the 1976 ABA-NBA merger – provide hope and some patience. The fan base, by and large, seems willing to buy into building around Flagg. It helped that Flagg was fresh off the highest-scoring three-game span by a teenager in NBA history when the Davis trade was made.
“The runway is long,” said Mavs coach Jason Kidd, whose input on personnel decisions is valued by Dumont. “He’s 19, developing his understanding of the NBA, the schedule, the physicality. His game is very impressive, and now it’s for us to find pieces that fit.”
IT REMAINS TO be determined who, exactly, will be in charge of finding those players to fit around Flagg.
Dumont is in the midst of vetting several candidates in a wide-ranging search. That includes internal candidates and multiple executives with proven track records of successfully running a team’s basketball operations department, including some who are currently in those roles for other franchises, sources said.
There is an expectation Dumont will decide on Harrison’s permanent successor after Dallas’ season ends. The predraft process will be critical for the 19-34 Mavs, who appear destined to land in the middle of the lottery standings and will also have Oklahoma City’s pick, likely the last selection in Round 1.
“You take a look at our roster now, we have an unbelievable player in Cooper Flagg,” Finley said last week. “It’s our job to put the right pieces around him. When you have the draft capital, it gives you the ability to go out and put the proper pieces around him to make our team – like I keep stressing – a championship contender.”
Dallas, however, doesn’t have the option of a traditional rebuild during Flagg’s early years; This is the final year the team will have control of its own first-round pick while Flagg is on his rookie contract.
The picks were part of deals the Mavs made to build around Doncic: Dallas’ 2027 pick is protected if it lands in the top two but otherwise is owed to the Charlotte Hornets as part of the P.J. Washington trade. Oklahoma City has swap rights with the Mavs in 2028 from serving as a facilitator in the Daniel Gafford deal in 2024. The 2029 pick the Mavs sent to the Brooklyn Nets in the Irving deal is now property of the Houston Rockets. The San Antonio Spurs have 2030 swap rights with Dallas, acquired for taking on Reggie Bullock Jr.’s expiring contract in a three-way sign-and-trade deal for Grant Williams, whose Dallas tenure was even shorter than Davis’.
By coincidence, on the night after the Davis trade, the Mavs got a close-up view of a franchise that has built around a highly anticipated No. 1 overall pick.
Due to years of planning – including an intentional roster teardown to start the rebuilding process – the Spurs had the luxury of having a surplus of first-round picks before Victor Wembanyama’s arrival, giving them options well beyond what is at Dallas’ disposal and drastically increasing their flexibility with the trade deadline maneuvering.
But the Mavs can mimic the two most important transactions the Spurs made in going from a 22-win team in Wembanyama’s rookie year to second place in the West at this point of his third season.
Irving’s eventual return can be the Mavs’ version of the Spurs’ trade for former All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox.
The Spurs’ struggles a couple of years ago positioned them to draft Stephon Castle with the No. 4 pick, giving San Antonio a co-star on the same timeline as Wembanyama. It’s critical that the Mavs find a young talent worthy of pairing with Flagg long-term with their upcoming lottery pick in a draft that is widely considered within the league as loaded with talent at the top.
The hardest part of building a contender is finding a legitimate cornerstone. The Mavs lucked into that – but now some patience will be required.
“You can’t make everything happen just like this,” Wembanyama said, snapping his fingers and speaking from experience. “You have to trust your organization.”