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The trade: Anthony Davis to the Atlanta Hawks for Kristaps Porziņģis, Asa Newell, Luke Kennard and 2027 first-round pick (top-4 protected, via NOP or MIL)
The Mavs have recovered a bit from their early messiness—turns out playing an actual point guard is kinda helpful—but it still feels like a Davis deal and asset-aimed fire-sale is the best way to brighten the future around top pick Cooper Flagg.
Dallas can make that happen, too, provided it accepts that no one else would value Davis as being anywhere near Luka bleepin’ Dončić. This isn’t about saving face, it’s about extracting the best assets available for a 32-year-old with a long injury history and a whole heap of money headed his way in the future.
Maybe the market will prove different, but this feels about as good as Dallas can do. The first-round pick should be a pretty good one, and Newell could be a fun, long-term frontcourt fit with Flagg and Dereck Lively II, especially if his perimeter shooting perks up. Ideally, Dallas would reroute at least one of the incoming vets elsewhere for additional assets, but if not, both are at least on expiring salaries totaling more than $41 million.