Dallas Mavericks trading Anthony Davis to Washington Wizards in blockbuster deal, CBS Texas confirms
Nico Harrison's vision for the Dallas Mavericks is officially dead.
After just a year with the team, the Mavericks traded forward Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards in a blockbuster deal involving seven other players and five draft picks, sources confirmed to CBS Texas.
ESPN's Shams Charania first reported Wednesday afternoon that the trade involves the Mavs sending Davis, Jaden Hardy, D'Angelo Russell and Dante Exum to Washington in exchange for Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, two first-round draft picks and three second-round picks.
Davis was the key piece the Mavericks received in the notorious Luka Doncic trade that sent the beloved Dallas superstar to the Los Angeles Lakers just one year ago.
Davis, along with Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick, was the package the Mavs received in exchange for Doncic. The "vision," as Harrison, the now-former Mavs general manager articulated, was to have a long, defensively stout lineup that would have paired Davis with Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford.
That lineup took the floor for only two quarters, during Davis' debut with the Mavs. He would suffer a groin injury midway through the game and was out for multiple weeks. By the time he returned, injuries had taken out other key players as well.
When Davis is on the floor, it is apparent that he is still among the best players in the world. He has averaged 20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.
The problem is, Davis has been in street clothes more than he's been on the court, appearing in only 29 games since joining the Mavs.
To add insult to injury, we never truly saw how Davis and Irving would play out as a duo; Irving tore his ACL in March, sidelining him for virtually all of Davis' stint with the Mavs.
With this trade, the Mavericks are fully embracing a rebuild that centers around their star rookie Cooper Flagg.
Davis' time with the Mavericks might not have been during the happiest time in the team's history, but when he did lace up his sneakers, he was still nothing short of an All-NBA player.
