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Dallas Mavericks star big man Anthony Davis took to social media on Tuesday to address “lies” regarding his injury and status.
Davis’ post came shortly after ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that he is set to undergo surgery to repair ligament damage in his left hand that would force him to miss “several months.”
AD responded to a post about his reported injury, surgery and timeline for return by writing, “Lies!”
Charania added that Davis’ “season is over in Dallas” due to the injury, coupled with the Mavs’ direction amid their struggles this season.
Per Charania, the Mavericks have had “renewed” trade talks involving Davis with the belief that Davis could potentially return late in the season or during the playoffs for a contending team.
Davis noted that the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks are among the teams known to have had interest in Davis at one point. The Athletic’s Sam Amick also recently reported that the Milwaukee Bucks “registered interest” in Davis, but “it appears there’s no realistic pathway to a deal there.”
The 32-year-old Davis is in the midst of his first full season in Dallas after the Mavs acquired him from the Los Angeles Lakers as part of the blockbuster Luka Dončić trade midway through last season.
A 10-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection, five-time NBA All-Defensive selection and one-time NBA champion, Davis is averaging 20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.1 steals per game this season.
However, he has been limited to only 20 games due to various injuries, and he has missed the Mavs’ past two games.
At 15-25, the Mavericks are currently 12th in the Western Conference, and they trail the Memphis Grizzlies by 2.5 games for the 10th seed and the final spot in the postseason play-in tournament.
If Davis sticks around and stays healthy, and star guard Kyrie Irving returns from a torn ACL that has prevented him from playing so far this season, perhaps they could combine with Rookie of the Year front-runner Cooper Flagg to get the Mavs into the play-in and potentially even into the playoffs.
Davis is only signed through next season with a player option for 2027-28, though, meaning the best move for the Mavs’ future may be to trade him as soon as possible.
While Davis’ injury could complicate things on the trade front, Davis’ X posts suggest that there may be other paths available to him aside from surgery and a multi-month absence.
Ultimately, it just adds even more confusion to an already head-scratching saga, as it remains unclear where Davis will be once the Feb. 5 trade deadline rolls around and whether he will be able to return to the court in the near future.