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The Dallas Mavericks have been discussing trades for Anthony Davis but have not yet made a deal with any team, NBA insider Marc Stein reported Wednesday.
According to Stein, the Toronto Raptors are one of the teams that have “maintained trade interest in Davis.”
The Raptors’ offer for Davis would likely involve RJ Barrett and either Immanuel Quickley or Jakob Poeltl, according to Stein.
Davis might ultimately support staying in Dallas past the Feb. 5 deadline, according to Stein. He wrote that a source told him Davis “would welcome staying put for the rest of the season.”
The Athletic’s Christian Clark and Sam Amick recently reported the Mavericks front office “doesn’t feel like it must deal Davis before the deadline” and “hasn’t closed the door on the idea of Davis remaining in Dallas long-term.”
Either way, Davis is not expected to play for the Mavericks again ahead of the trade deadline. The team announced Tuesday he would be sidelined for approximately six weeks with a left hand injury.
The Mavericks have yet to see Davis play alongside both Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving, who has yet to return from the torn ACL he suffered last March.
Davis won’t need surgery to repair ligament damage in his hand, according to the Mavericks, although ESPN’s Shams Charania reported he could still miss “up to eight or more weeks.”
Charania also reported Tuesday that the Mavericks were “having renewed Davis trade talks with multiple interested teams” despite the injury news.
“If moved to a playoff contender, the return timeline could allow Davis to return during the postseason while establishing himself for the long-term elsewhere,” Charania wrote.
The Raptors (24-17, No. 4 in the Eastern Conference) would likely give Davis more hope of seeing more postseason action than the Mavs (15-25, No. 12 in the Western Conference).
Toronto may have to decide, however, if losing two members of their current starting lineup would be worth acquiring Davis given the concerns surrounding his health.
Davis has averaged 20.4 points and 11.1 rebounds per game through 20 starts. For the past several years, however, his availability has been an issue. This will mark the third straight season during which he has sat out at least 30 games.
Davis, 32, is playing this season under a $54.1 million cap hit. He is signed for at least one more season with a $58.4 million cap hit and holds a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28, per Spotrac.
The Raptors have Barrett, a 25-year-old who is averaging 19.6 points per game this season, under contract for one more season at a cap hit of just under $30 million.
Adding the contract of either Quickley ($32.5 million AAV through 2028-29) or Poeltl ($28 million AAV through 2029-30) to a potential deal would allow the franchise to clear up some cap flexibility going forward.
If the Mavericks ultimately decide to keep Davis past the trade deadline, Dallas could hope to see him and Irving both return before the end of the season in order to get a look at their core before making any more decisions on next moves.