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Tim MacMahon
The Dallas Mavericks‘ most active trade discussions involving Anthony Davis are with the Toronto Raptors as of Wednesday afternoon, but no deal is imminent, sources told ESPN.
Mavs governor Patrick Dumont has continued to emphasize internally that he does not feel pressure to trade Davis before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, sources said.
The Mavs have been exploring the market for Davis, 32, since former general manger Nico Harrison was fired in early November, a decision Dumont made in large part because of the fan backlash from last year’s trade that sent perennial MVP contender Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package headlined by Davis.
Interim co-GMs Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi are running the Mavs’ basketball operations department while ownership vets potential candidates in the search for Harrison’s permanent replacement.
The Mavs have also engaged in discussions with multiple teams about center Daniel Gafford, sources said.
The Raptors and Atlanta Hawks are the teams that have had the most involved discussions with Dallas regarding Davis over the past few months, sources said. The talks with the Hawks have gone dormant, although there is an anticipation that Atlanta could make an offer built around expiring contracts as the deadline nears.
If a trade with Toronto materializes, the Mavs would have to take back significant salaries into next season and beyond, so Dallas is prioritizing draft compensation in those discussions.
The Raptors have been aggressively searching for frontcourt help, including engaging with the Sacramento Kings in discussions about center Domantas Sabonis, sources said.
Toronto also had talks with the Memphis Grizzlies about forward Jaren Jackson Jr. before he was traded to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, according to sources.
Davis, who has been sidelined with a hand injury since early January, is averaging 20.1 points and 11.1 rebounds in 20 games this season.
The Mavericks (19-31) entered Wednesday on a five-game losing streak and are 12th in the Western Conference, 3.5 games behind the 10th-place Portland Trail Blazers (23-28).
The Raptors (30-21), on the other hand, are in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race and entered Wednesday tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for fourth place.