After what happened nine months ago, the likelihood of Anthony Davis assuming he’d never get traded is thin. The firing of Nico Harrison, the return of Mark Cuban, and the former Mavs owner’s statements would hardly translate to job security for the injury-stricken player. Everyone but the billionaire is certain about the strong possibility that Anthony Davis will be traded. The only way that would not happen is if his injuries limit his market. But Zach Lowe is those of us ensuring AD has a bag packed to leave anytime.

From the Pistons to Clippers, Lowe has suggested multiple trade scenarios for AD. He’s not even considering the other possibility that Davis might remain in Dallas for the foreseeable future. Not even if Mark Cuban says so.

This week he pitched the AD to Clippers trade again and added, “By the way, do I believe Mark Cuban when he says we’re not trading Anthony Davis? It means nothing to me.”

He’s not the only one with the opinion but he further said, “I expect the Mavericks to trade Anthony Davis,” and circled back to the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard.

Mark Cuban’s statements remains difficult to believe

In the immediate aftermath of Nico Harrison’s firing, Lowe revealed that the Clippers are in a tough position similar to the Mavericks. John Collins, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Brook Lopez could combine for $52.87 million, a little short of AD’s $54.13 million. Instead, Lowe had suggested sending AD to Brooklyn, Detroit, Charlotte, anywhere that’s not Los Angeles or Dallas. Because he’s sure he’s not going to stay with the Mavs beyond this season.

Mark Cuban had seemingly been exiled from Mavs basketball operations after he sold the team to Patrick Dumont and the Adelson family. So obviously he wasn’t there to stop Nico Harrison from trading Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis on February 2, 2025. Cuban returned to the front office right after Harrison was fired and went on a damage control press tour.

The biggest takeaway of his recent appearances was the implication that the ex-GM misled Cuban about the infamous trade. Cuban had felt that Harrison had set the franchise back years with his decision. Almost everything indicated that the former boss was not happy with having AD in Dallas.

So it came as a surprise when the Shark Tank star’s response to if they’d trade AD was, “We won’t. We want to try to win.” Almost everyone took that with a grain of salt.

Parallel to Cuban’s statement, Shams Charania gave a pulse of the Dallas front office on AD. “The Mavericks will be listening to trade calls for Anthony Davis and seeing and exploring his value.” The team is eager to rebuild around Cooper Flagg and the jury is still out on whether Davis fits that system. But the franchise is so strapped, all possibilities depend on AD’s health.

Lowe’s former colleague, Tim Bontemps, also painted a grim picture of the market for Davis. “The idea of trading Anthony Davis has everyone trained to think, well, they’re gonna get three firsts, two swaps, they’re gonna get two young players and they’re gonna get all this stuff. I shouldn’t say it’s not gonna happen… but, you talk to people in the league, there’s not a lot of teams that are lining up to take on a 35-year-old Anthony Davis making $63 million, and you have to assume that he’s gonna opt into that deal.”

Will Mark Cuban have the last laugh?