Anthony Davis’ tenure with the Dallas Mavericks has been a disappointment. The forward has played just 29 games this season and last, fewer than the No. 1 overall pick rookie Cooper Flagg, who joined the team about eight months later. Now, some crucial details about Davis’ NBA future have emerged.

“Meaningful basketball in Dallas for Davis this season is essentially over,” NBA insider Shams Charania reported on NBA Today. “I’m told the Mavericks are having renewed trade talks around Davis with multiple interested teams. Two of the foremost teams there Atlanta and Toronto. One thing that has been made clear in the last few days from people that I talked to is the cost is most certainly going to be lower for the Mavericks than it was even a month ago.”

The reality is clear.

Davis will miss six or more weeks after the latest update on his hand injury, and the Mavericks are likely to pursue a high lottery pick with him out for most of the season. For any hope of a turnaround for a team that sits 12th in the Western Conference, a lot of things have to go right. The odds of it happening are low.

The Mavericks face a clear choice: reset the books by trading Davis at the deadline, or hope that his value rises. The hope that Davis could rebuild his value this season has been completely destroyed by his durability issues, and if any offers come now, they will not have big returns.

The Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors remain the top suitors for Davis. The case for the Hawks is clear: the team has excess cap space due to expiring contracts from the Trae Young trade. Their timeline allows for some calculated risk, and they have the flexibility to reset around Jalen Johnson.

The Raptors, meanwhile, have a more realistic interest in Davis. They’re evaluating whether the forward fits alongside Scottie Barnes long-term and whether his presence would accelerate their championship hopes without sacrificing flexibility. Getting off the Immanuel Quickley contract is a priority, but any interest in Davis will disappear quickly if the price goes any higher.

The line the Mavericks drew in Anthony Davis negotiations with Rich Paul

Things are getting complex in Dallas, but team management seems unfazed. Recently, insider Tim MacMahon reported that Anthony Davis’ representation, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, wants him to land on a team willing to extend his deal at present, something the Mavericks indicated they are unwilling to do.

However, they aren’t rushing to trade Davis either. Unlike what Paul reportedly wishes, the team is considering all offers and thoroughly exploring the market before deciding on a partner, rather than just offloading his contract. MacMahon shared direct quotes from sources within the Mavericks organization.

“Rich Paul is not going to bully us,” an insider said.

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“[Patrick Dumont]’s not going to sign off on a deal just to do a deal. Ownership doesn’t feel any pressure to do an AD deal,” another inside source mentioned.

A third source clarified, “Patrick has no problem going into next year and seeing with a healthy Kyrie and a healthy AD alongside Cooper Flagg and seeing what it looks like.”

The message to Paul is clear: the Mavericks hold all the leverage. Their confidence is rooted in flexibility and the belief that even if the right deal doesn’t materialize now, they have no problem revisiting it in the summer. There’s also an extra reason to believe that the team will be active in the market beginning in 2026-27 because they don’t control their own first-round picks from 2027 to 2030. Only time will tell who comes out on top, and where Davis might end up.