Anthony Davis came to Dallas as the center of a championship effort. His tenure with the Mavericks is all but ended less than two seasons later, and the franchise is already turning to what lies ahead.

The most recent hit was this week when Davis had his left hand damaged in terms of the ligament. The 32-year-old giant is probably undergoing surgery and is expected to miss several months, according to ESPN Shams Charania. Practically, that prognosis is the end of his 2025-26 season in Dallas.

Charania further added the icing on the cake that the direction was clear, and the Mavericks had resumed trade discussions with Davis, and several teams showed their interest.

The result is difficult to overlook due to that combination of surgery and a new trade talk. Even in the case Davis does not enter the operating room and instead chooses a non-surgical path, in the best-case scenario, he will be out of commission at least six weeks. Waiting is no longer acceptable to a Dallas team that is already losing its grip on contention.

The Mavericks have not been short of faith in the talent of Davis. Availability, though, has been the common problem.

In two seasons with Dallas, Davis has been able to play 29 games. Every comeback has been succeeded by another failure. This most recent injury, which has occurred at the point in the season when the Mavericks are standing out of the playoff field of view, seems to have necessitated a choice that the front office was procrastinating to make.

According to Charania, in case Davis is transferred to a playoff contender, it is hoped that there would be a chance of him coming back during the postseason, not to Dallas, but to a team that can handle the risk and enjoy the reward. That framing matters. It is an indication that the Mavericks are no longer basing their planning on his recovery but on his departure.

There is precedent when it comes to this strategy. There has been an increasing readiness to purchase injured stars by the teams with the perspective of long-term payoff despite the waiting. The elite two-way upside, combined with a time-limited recovery window remain an allure to the contenders in the case of Davis.

In the case of Dallas, however, the calculation is otherwise. It is a season that is slowly slipping out of hand, and the franchise cannot afford to remain frozen with uncertainty.

As Davis waits to find out what will happen to him, the organization has finally come into focus in other areas, namely, Kyrie Irving.

Since March 3, 2025, Irving has been sidelined after ripping his left ACL. The Mavericks had not agreed on any timeframe for returning in months. That changed this week.

As Grant Afseth, a close insider, puts it, the common belief in the league had it that Irving would only come back after the NBA All-Star break and not before. Dallas will resume playing on February 20, which means that the charity of Irving making a comeback is within one year of his injury.

That time is not a deadline, but an important milestone. It is a guarded optimism on the part of the team and the league observers, with reference to Irving, who has been making some positive progress in controlled workouts lately.

That is, as Davis is sliding down the stairs, Irving is slowly putting his season into sight.

Two Paths, One Inevitable Pivot

There’s a significant difference when you compare the two situations.

Surgery, trade rumors, and a future probably away from Dallas are all challenges for Davis. As for Irving, his potential return is imminent, which could change how the Mavericks strategize for the remainder of the season, or at a minimum, offer them a more accurate perspective.

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Dallas’s standing in the Western Conference is 12th, with a record of 15-25, and its struggles are intensified by an injury situation that has frequently left them with fewer healthy players than the team’s regular lineup. There’s not much room for mistakes in the rankings. However, within the organization, it seems they’re valuing clear communication over unrealistic optimism.

Therefore, the Davis development holds considerable importance. This is not simply another injury update. This shows the Mavericks have stopped balancing different timelines.

One era is closing. Another is cautiously reopening.

What comes next, whether a trade, a reset, or a reshaped core around Irving, will define the franchise’s direction far more than any single recovery timetable.

For now, the message is clear: Anthony Davis’ time in Dallas has reached its breaking point, just as Kyrie Irving’s long wait is finally nearing its end