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The Dallas Mavericks seem to be shopping around star forward/center Anthony Davis ahead of February’s trade deadline, which is for the best considering his injury history and contract. He’ll be making nearly $63 million in a season by the time he’s 34 years old, but he hasn’t played in even half of the games he’s been a Maverick.
The Atlanta Hawks have loudly emerged as the likeliest suitor for Davis, but the Mavericks are putting calls out there to other teams. One of those, per Sam Amico of The Athletic, is the Golden State Warriors, as the Mavericks apparently may want Jonathan Kuminga.
“While a league source said the Mavericks do have interest in the Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga, who can’t be traded until Jan. 15 but is widely expected to be dealt before the deadline, the fifth-year forward’s salary ($22.5 million) comes well short of Davis’ ($54.1 million). It would thus require the inclusion of another big contract — i.e., [Draymond] Green ($25.8 million). Yet as Warriors coach Steve Kerr said publicly last week, and team sources confirmed, a move like that is not in their plans.
“…A [Jimmy] Butler-for-Davis swap works financially, as the Warriors forward also makes $54.1 million this season, but Golden State has shown no interest in making such a move. While team sources say the Warriors have not entirely closed the door on a Davis deal, it appears unlikely. What’s more, it should be noted that the Mavericks called Golden State about the Davis possibility — and not the other way around.”
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Anthony Davis Going to the Warriors is Nearly Impossible
If the Golden State Warriors don’t want to trade Jimmy Butler or Draymond Green, as Amico mentioned, it’s going to just about impossible to pull off a trade. The next highest salary on the team is Moses Moody at $11 million, and after him, it’s Buddy Hield at $9 million. That’s still $12 million short of where they’d need to be to trade for Anthony Davis.
And it’s more surprising that the Mavericks would be interested in Kuminga, who could be a free agent at the end of the year with a $22.5 million salary, which he is not worth paying as of right now. Let another team take that gamble, but considering he plays the same position as Cooper Flagg, it doesn’t make ANY sense for the Mavericks to do it.
Trading Daniel Gafford to the Warriors would make things a little more palatable on both sides, but an Anthony Davis trade with Golden State won’t happen if they don’t plan on giving up Jimmy Butler (which the Mavericks shouldn’t want him anyway).
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