The Dallas Mavericks have a way of crushing hopes and dreams. Mark Cuban is officially back to Mavs operations and immediately promised he’d be the opposite of Nico Harrison. He shut down the possibility of trading Anthony Davis on his first day back despite those rumors. That got mixed reactions at first, because most fans blame Mavs’ slow decline on Harrison’s decision to trade Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis in February 2025. Some have been waiting to give the Kyrie-AD-Klay combination a chance. Cuban seemingly wants to bank on the available superstars. But before we could pop the champagne, Shams Charania spoke.

The ESPN insider claimed that the Dallas Mavericks are taking all trade calls from around the league for AD. It’s Shams Charania. So we’re more inclined to believe it’s not a rumor. According to him, the Mavs want to capitlize on Cooper Flagg’s youth over AD’s health.

Charania said this on his regular ESPN analytics appearance. “This franchise is moving from the Nico Harrison’s three to four year championship window and trying to find sustained success and sustained growth around Cooper Flagg and youth.”

To make that happen, sources at Dallas confirmed to ESPN, “The Mavericks will be listening to trade calls for Anthony Davis and seeing and exploring his value.”

Sustainability is the goal here. The Mavs have barely managed to improve to a 4-11 record, which isn’t all that great either. But without AD and Kyrie, they have to bank on the healthier, younger players with almost no backups. Jason Kidd is playing Flagg, an inexperienced forward in the point guard position which has posed its own challenges.

Mark Cuban almost predicted this. He felt that Harrison had set the franchise back years with no valuable assets. So him leaning into the decision he didn’t approve is a bigger shocker than a u-turn on AD’s trade.

Mark Cuban and Mavs’ decision still depends on Anthony Davis

Before he did the unthinkable on February 2, 2025, Nico Harrison had already, reportedly, annoyed Mark Cuban. The then-GM had exiled the former Mavs owner out of the team’s basketball operations, despite him holding a significant stake and say in these matters. So Cuban was not happy that Luka Doncic was sent away.

After Nico Harrison was fired last week, the Shark Tank legend orchestrated an instant return. He was immediately asked about the rumors that Anthony Davis is first on the trading block. Like Michael Jordan declaring, “I’m back,” the billionaire kept it brief and clear. “We won’t. We want to try to win.”

By all accounts, AD has the talent, skills, and experience to win. Just not the health. And Shams Charania said “Health is key” to whatever move they make around The Brow.

So although they’re hearing calls from league front offices, the Mavs aren’t jumping to trade AD urgently. They plan to monitor AD on the court for extended periods as well as the leaguewide injury statuses. They’d valuate if Davis is a better fit in Dallas or elsewhere once he’s healthier and playing.

That too is going ot have to wait. Shortly after firing Nico, they gave a grim update on AD. He’ll be out recovering from his calf strain for at least a week more, maybe 10 days. He’d be evaluated after that with no guarantee if he’ll be able to return to the court. His pending medical evaluation could push the team in one direction. But there’s no saying how Mark Cuban feels about that.