Anthony Davis may have already played his final game with the Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks big man Anthony Davis suffered ligament damage in his left hand at the end of Thursday night's game against the Utah Jazz, and he may have already played his final game in Dallas without even knowing it.

Davis' timetable to return will all depend on whether he needs surgery or not, but ESPN's Shams Charania reported that there's a "real chance" he is out until the February 5 trade deadline, and possibly even longer. The fact that Davis may not return to the floor before the trade deadline is going to scare teams away from even touching him this season, meaning the Mavericks may have to wait until the offseason to trade him.

With that being said, even if Davis is healthy before the end of the regular season, the Mavericks shouldn't even bring him back. He hasn't proven that he can stay on the floor, and every injury that he suffers sets Dallas back even further.

Davis may not play again in Dallas — regardless of whether he is traded

Fans were excited for this year's trade deadline, as it was the team's first real chance to go all-in on building around Cooper Flagg. He has proven that he is the future franchise cornerstone that Dallas needed after trading Luka Doncic away, and every move that they make forward should have him at the front of their mind.

The "win-now" vision is long gone. The only vision in Dallas is putting the best possible roster around Cooper Flagg for years to come.

They know this, and trading Davis elsewhere once seemed like it had the potential to get the rebuild started with a bang. Teams like the Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, and Toronto Raptors all registered interest in Davis, and the Mavericks had a shot at recouping draft assets, expiring contracts, and young players in a deal for the star big man.

The Hawks seemed like the most likely destination, as a package centered around Zaccharie Risacher, expiring contracts, and a first-round pick made the most sense, but Dallas can kiss that trade return goodbye if Davis needs surgery on his hand. Atlanta is 18-21 on the year, and Davis once seemed like a player who would help turn their season around.

Trae Young getting traded intensified the Hawks' pursuit of Davis, but just over 24 hours after that trade went down, Atlanta's prime trade target went down with an injury. Dallas' best shot at trading Davis' in-season may be long gone, and his new hand injury proves that the Mavericks should've traded him way sooner.

Even if they go into the offseason with Davis on the roster, a trade seems likely. Davis' camp doesn't believe that the Mavericks want to give him an extension, meaning that they will push for him to get moved and have a fresh start.

Anthony Davis has only played in 29 games since getting traded to Dallas 342 days ago, and his 29th game may have been his final one.