The whole basketball world is convinced that an Anthony Davis trade is coming.
But the Dallas Mavericks might have a problem on their hands. Is Davis really worth much, given all the weight he carries?
No, not literal weight, although there are some concerns about Davis' body as he continues to miss time due to injuries.
This is about the injury history and the contract.
Davis has played less than half the possible games since being traded to the Mavs from the Lakers in the Luka Doncic deal. And that's not new. Davis has always had injury woes.
Add in a contract that will pay Davis more than $150 million over the next three years, and it's hard to know how many teams would want him. Especially when he still is annoyed at the concept of playing center even though that's clearly the position he is most useful at.
ESPN's Tim Bontemps shared these thoughts in an article on Friday:
As ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported Wednesday, the Mavericks are expected to explore a Davis trade between now and February's trade deadline -- something rival teams expect to happen, too. The problem for the Mavericks is that any potential return will be something more akin to the Kevin Durant trade to Houston -- a couple of solid players and a draft pick -- than, say, the Rudy Gobert or Donovan Mitchell trades out of Utah a couple of years ago that each netted the Jazz control over several first-round selections. "With the lack of picks around the league now, that's what you should expect for a [Davis] deal," a West scout said.
Several other sources struggled to produce a deep list of suitors for Davis, who is set to make $54.1 million, $58.4 million and $62.7 million across the next three seasons.
It's that salary that makes this extra tough. The NBA's salary-matching rules for trades get tougher to follow the higher up the wage bracket you get. And those are quite the numbers that would have to be balanced out in a Davis trade.
Very few teams have the right mixture to even consider a deal for AD.
He might genuinely be stuck in Dallas unless the Mavericks sell incredibly low. Even then, an acquiring team will still be on the hook for a lot to Davis, which is quite risky given his inability to stay on the floor.
So while the trade rumors are interesting, they may not be the thing to focus on. A Davis trade could be extremely tough to make happen.
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