The Dallas Mavericks have been the talk of the NBA in recent months, and not always for good reasons.
First, Dallas GM Nico Harrison made the most controversial trade in NBA history in February by sending superstar Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis.
AD immediately got injured in a Mavs uniform, joining Kyrie Irving (ACL) on the sidelines, and Dallas’ season quickly spiraled, making Nico look even worse.
Miraculously, the Mavs won the draft lottery in May, immediately changing their ill fortunes and setting Dallas up to select Duke phenom Cooper Flagg at No. 1 overall.
Conspiracy theorists came out of the woods and claimed that the NBA rigged the lottery in the Mavericks’ favor, given their recent issues.
Regardless, Flagg will be a Mav, which has led some to think that Dallas should pivot once again and make another bold trade.
On Wednesday, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey suggested that the Mavs should shift their focus to a basketball and cultural rebuild centered around Flagg, which could start with firing Harrison and trading AD.
“After pulling off the least explicable trade in NBA history when he sent Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison aggressively (and publicly) tied his reputation (and maybe his career) to Anthony Davis,” Bailey wrote.
“Ownership has put some guardrails around Harrison since the deal, generally trying to keep him out of the public eye and monitoring his work a little more carefully going forward. The guardrails seem high enough to wonder why he's even still there.”
“And if Dallas (particularly governor Patrick Dumont) realize the best path forward is a new lead executive and a rebuild around eventual No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg, an AD trade could at least partially make up for the fact that Harrison didn't extract near enough value out of the Luka deal.”
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Bailey then proposed a trade sending Davis to the Charlotte Hornets.
“Anthony Davis for Miles Bridges, Jusuf Nurkić, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2029 first-round pick and a 2031 first-round pick,” Bailey wrote.
“Jusuf Nurkić's deal expires after this coming season. Miles Bridges' is done the year after that. Neither would be likely to be around the next time Dallas is truly competitive.”
“This is about getting out of the contract of a post-prime and oft-injured Davis … and picking up multiple picks with which to build around (Cooper) Flagg.”
“For Charlotte … pursuing Davis would almost certainly mean keeping Ball. Those two would be a dynamic inside-out combo, especially with Miller providing some floor spacing on their flank.”
So … AD to the Hornets?
This trade idea is creative, but ultimately not that realistic. While Bailey argues that trading Davis would repair fan anger over losing Luka, that doesn’t make much sense. It’s more likely that fans would be irate over the fact that — if this trade happened — the Mavs would have ultimately cut ties with Dončić for a return of Bridges, Nurkić, and draft picks (yikes).
Sure, three first-rounders would be lovely to have, but Dallas thinks they can be good right away with a Flagg/AD duo (and Kyrie eventually returning), and they might not be wrong.
Firing Harrison, on the other hand, would be a brilliant move.
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