By trading Anthony Davis, Mavericks can finally move on from Luka Dončić debacle

Anthony Davis was traded to the Wizards on Wednesday for a pretty pathetic package. And all I can think is: Can you imagine if the Mavericks didn't luck into Cooper Flagg? If that 1.8% chance of landing the top pick last spring didn't break their way, we would be talking about the saddest sports fumble since Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920 to fund a Broadway play. 

Here's what the Mavericks got for Davis and some other pieces (Jaden Hardy, D'Angelo Russell and Dante Exum are also going to the Wizards) on Wednesday, 25 hours before the 2026 NBA trade deadline: Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, OKC's 2026 first-round pick and a top-20 protected Warriors first-rounder in 2030, and three second rounders. 

There has been a lot of talk about the Warriors' future picks becoming highly valuable in a post-Stephen Curry era, but mind the top-20 protection. The only way that conveys is if it falls to No. 21 or later. If not, it becomes Golden State's 2030 second-round pick. 

Either way, as an extension of the Luka Dončić trade, which is the only logical way to look at this as Davis was the main asset the Mavericks brought back in that deal, this is a joke. All told, this is what the Mavericks have wound up with 52 weeks after trading Luka Freaking Doncic. 

• Max Christie
• Khris Middleton
• AJ Johnson
• Malaki Branham
• Marvin Bagley II
• The Lakers' 2029 first-round pick
• The Thunder's 2026 first-round pick
• The Warriors' 2030 first-round pick (top-20 protected)
• The Suns' 2026 second-round pick
• The Bulls' 2027 second-round pick
• The Rockets' 2029 second-round pick

That is a whole bunch of nothing. Three first-round picks, two of which are all but certain to be in the 20s and one that is likely to become a second rounder, and Christie. Everything else is filler. We know how much Nico Harrison valued Davis a year ago. This is how much the rest of the league values him now.

You have to wonder if Kyrie Irving is next up on the trade list. He should be. This is Flagg's team now, and that is the salvation that is saving Mavericks fans right now. Imagining the state of this franchise in a non-Flagg world is nauseating. But the Mavericks don't have to. Even if it was total lightning-strike luck and neither Harrison nor anyone involved in trading Dončić deserve one ounce of credit for it happening, Flagg was, in the end, part of the Luka package. 

Wherever Harrison is sitting right now, he has to be absolutely embarrassed that a guy he deemed to be better than Luka Dončić just got dumped to the Wizards. He's probably still rationalizing the hell out of the trade. His vision never got a chance to materialize. Davis got hurt, literally, in his first game with the Mavericks, but man was he awesome in that one game! 

Davis carded 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in 31 minutes against the Rockets before going down with an adductor strain that night. It was the first 20-point double-double debut in franchise history. He missed the next six weeks. By the time he got back, Kyrie had torn his ACL. Nico's dream was over before it started. 

I do have some sympathy for that. The idiocy of the trade notwithstanding, I have to admit I was curious to see what the healthy Mavericks could've been. I will always believe that in a perfect world they had a chance to be elite with Davis and Irving and all their supporting two-way talent, and now that Flagg has turned out to be this good this quickly, I think everyone was starting to imagine a Mavericks team next season with a healthy Davis, Irving and Flagg. 

But ultimately, the Mavs did the right thing in trading Davis away. They probably should've done it even sooner while they maybe had a little better market to work with. Davis is beyond damaged goods at this point. The man only made it five games this season before he went down with his first injury, a calf strain that kept him out a month. Any scenario you're imagining that involves him staying healthy is a dream. 

Now, the Wizards are happy to operate in dream land. They don't have anything to lose. The picks they gave up, as noted, are not valuable assets. If Davis falls apart on them, whatever. But the Mavericks had built up a pretty damn big bank roll and they bet it all on Davis. It was a disaster from the start, but now, finally, mercifully, it has ended, and the Mavericks are free to officially start again with Cooper.