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The Anthony Davis era in Dallas came to an end Wednesday when the Mavericks agreed to trade the 10-time All-Star, along with Jaden Hardy, D’Angelo Russell and Dante Exum, to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, two first-round picks and three second-round picks, according to ESPN.
The Mavericks will receive the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 2026 first and the Golden State Warriors‘ 2030 first, which is top-20 protected.
We have grades on the deal, which is questionable for both sides, here. But ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, we wanted to take a deeper look at the trade that comes 368 days after the Mavericks stunningly gave up Luka Dončić to acquire Davis. Here are the winners and losers of the Davis-to-the-Wizards deal:
Loser: Nico Harrison
Harrison is no longer employed by the Mavericks, but he’s still the biggest loser from this trade because it further cements the initial Luka Dončić deal as one of the worst in NBA history.
Less than a year after Dončić led the Mavericks to the Finals for the first time since 2011, Harrison shipped him out of town for Davis, who ended up playing 29 out of a possible 83 games for the Mavericks — a tremendous irony given that one of the reasons Harrison gave up Dončić was over concerns about his health and durability.
Now, after sending Davis to the Wizards, here’s what the Mavericks have to show for Dončić, one of the best players in franchise history, a fan favorite and a perennial All-NBA First Team honoree:
- Max Christie
- Khris Middleton (likely buyout candidate)
- AJ Johnson
- Malaki Branham
- Marvin Bagley II
- Thunder’s 2026 first-round pick
- Lakers‘ 2029 first-round pick
- Warriors’ 2030 first-round pick (top-20 protected)
- Suns‘ 2026 second-round pick
- Bulls‘ 2027 second-round pick
- Rockets‘ 2029 second-round pick
Christie is a really solid young role player, but with respect to him, it’s a disaster if he’s the best asset you get back for Dončić.
Winner: Wizards
The Wizards have had a fascinating season.
As expected, they’ve once again been terrible. At 13-36, they have the fourth-worst record in the league, and could very well end up with the worst mark (they’re two games ahead of the Sacramento Kings in the crowded race for the bottom). Wherever they wind up in the lottery, they’re going to add another top talent to their young core, which already boasts some promising pieces: Alex Sarr, Tre Johnson, Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly and Bub Carrington.
In the midst of another losing season, the Wizards have also now made two big moves to acquire Davis and Trae Young. Both players will be out through at least the All-Star break, and it would not be surprising if neither suits up down the stretch so that the Wizards can ensure they keep their top-eight protected pick.
There are obviously concerns with Davis and Young — health and age in Davis’ case, defense and shot selection for Young — but they’re both All-Star level talents and the Wizards got them largely for free. Who knows how long both of them will remain in D.C., or how many games they’ll play together, but the Wizards haven’t had this much talent in a decade.
The 2027 and 2028 drafts are not super highly regarded, and you can only tank for so long. Plus, the Wizards are not a free agent destination. At the very least, Davis and Young will allow the Wizards to see their young core in a more competitive environment. And even if they both eventually walk in free agency, the Wizards won’t have lost anything.
Winner: Whoever is in charge of managing the Mavs’ cap sheet
The Mavericks technically got two prospects and five picks back for Davis, but AJ Johnson is now on his third team in two years and Malaki Branham is on his third team in four years. Johnson, in particular, is still young enough that you can’t completely write him off, but it’s unlikely he’s going to turn into more than a rotation player. Meanwhile, the Thunder’s first-round pick in this year’s draft is likely going to be No. 30, while the Warriors’ 2030 first-round pick is top-20 protected. And the second-round picks, though useful, are second-round picks.
This deal was largely about not having to give Davis an extension and creating future flexibility.
Per Bobby Marks, the Mavericks are now below the luxury-tax line this season and are down to $150 million in guaranteed money for next season, which also has them below the tax. And that’s before other possible moves to ship out more veterans if the Mavericks want to completely tear things down. Could Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Daniel Gafford or PJ Washington be on the move before Thursday, or in the summer?
The Mavericks not only saved significant money with this deal, but gave themselves more freedom to build around No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, who is the new face of the franchise.
Winner and Loser: Cooper Flagg
Even though Davis largely hadn’t played while he was in Dallas, the Mavericks are a significantly worse team without him. And there’s a chance that other veterans could follow him out the door, according to Tim Bontemps. The Mavericks are heading toward another lottery appearance this season, and it’s hard to say when they’ll be a playoff team again, let alone a contender.
From that perspective, Flagg is a loser. He was drafted to a team with Davis and Irving, and a supporting cast that was in the Finals in 2024. It’s extremely rare for a No. 1 pick to go to a situation with that much talent and a legitimate chance to make the playoffs. Less than a year later, Flagg is in the same spot that most top picks are in early in their career: being stuck on a bad team.
On the other hand, trading Davis signals that the Mavericks are now fully committed to building around Flagg. In case there had been any doubt, this is officially Flagg’s franchise, and that makes him a winner. There aren’t many players in the league who are held in that regard by their organization, but it’s a deserved honor for Flagg, who will likely win Rookie of the Year (he’s the -550 ROY favorite on FanDuel as of Wednesday afternoon)
After a frustrating start to his debut campaign, Flagg has been historically great as of late. Late last month, he poured in 49 points to set the scoring record by a teenager, and he’s currently on a run of three consecutive 30-point games, which no teenager has ever done before. For the season, Flagg is up to 20.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game on 48.4% shooting.