Anthony Davis just made his next team overwhelmingly obvious

With Anthony Davis turning into an absolute monster on Monday night against the Denver Nuggets, the Dallas Mavericks may just hold off on trading him and see how the rest of the season plays out. They have now won two games in a row, and at 7-15, they are only two games out of the Play-In Tournament. With some recent wins and much better play as of late, they could decide to hold onto Davis and see if they have enough juice to make a push for a playoff spot.

The Mavericks are in an extremely tough spot, as many fans want them to tank and maximize lottery odds, but the writing is on the wall that they are much better than their record shows. Eleven of Dallas' 15 losses have been by 10 points or less, showing that they are at least making things close, and consistently adding Davis to the mix should help them pull away in some of these close games.

The predicament of keeping Davis and allowing him to play with Kyrie Irving once he returns or trading him before the trade deadline is going to be the talk of the town for the next few months. Despite this, he may have just proved that the Mavericks should hold off on any trade talks until the offseason.

The argument against Dallas trading Anthony Davis just got louder

Trading Davis to a team like the Chicago Bulls may make sense, but a move that may make even more sense would be to keep him in Big D and try to win as many games as possible. Even if the Mavs did trade Davis, their lottery odds likely won't be great anyway due to how deep they are, and seeing how this year plays out doesn't seem to be a dead idea yet.

This doesn't mean that they shouldn't do whatever they can to put the ideal roster around Cooper Flagg and put him in a position to win for years to come, but the Mavericks could find themselves in the middle of the play-in race if Davis can keep it up. Their roster may just be too good to tank, and Davis quickly reminded the NBA that he is still one of the best bigs in the NBA.

On Monday, Davis finished with 32 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and a steal while shooting 13-23 from the field and 2-4 from downtown, and he couldn't be stopped. Davis' strong performance, combined with Ryan Nembhard's historic night and Flagg's electric performance, made for a 10-point win over the Nuggets, and they have to be feeling some confidence after this win.

Davis' jumper was falling from the mid-range and from beyond the arc, and when this happens, he turns into a force to be reckoned with. The overall effectiveness of his offensive game has long depended on whether he is hitting his jump shots or not, and he showed the entire league just how dominant he can be when he is at his best.

Outside of efficient jump shooting, Davis was finishing well around the bucket. He finished multiple putback slams and pulled four offensive rebounds, and his presence on both ends of the floor gave Dallas a major boost. This type of performance reiterated that he is much better at the five than the four, and his addition back into the lineup should help Dallas improve on the glass.

Defensively, he also had a solid performance, and Jason Kidd may have found a new recipe for success for the rest of the season. Davis at the five alongside a true point guard and Cooper Flagg is bound to help their offense considerably, and him continuing to play at an elite level will be major for the Mavericks.

Regardless of whether Dallas decides to trade Davis or keep him as one of their cornerstones, these types of powerful performances should boost his trade value while also helping lead the Mavericks to some more wins. Earlier this season, Mark Cuban made it clear that the Mavericks don't want to trade Davis, and he may just be telling the truth if the wins keep rolling in.

Dallas definitely has to keep playing like this for multiple weeks before making any sort of concrete decision when it comes to tanking or trying to win as many games as possible, but Davis just made a great case for why they should hold onto him. His trade value could end up being much higher during the offseason anyway, especially if he leads them to the playoffs, and the Mavericks have no reason to jump to conclusions just yet.

Davis may have just proved that the team that makes the most sense for him right now is the one that he's already on. Regardless of how much some Mavericks fans want change.