Mavericks' Anthony Davis trade scramble is far from over if thrilling rumors are true

ESPN's Shams Charania announced that Anthony Davis will need surgery on his left hand due to ligament damage, "essentially" ending his season for the Dallas Mavericks, as he will miss multiple months. While this report means that Dallas' season is pretty much over, it does come with the silver lining that Davis' trade market is heating back up at the perfect time.

"The Mavericks are having renewed Davis trade talks with multiple interested teams," Charania reported. "If moved to a playoff contender, the return timeline could allow Davis to come back during the postseason while establishing himself for the long-term elsewhere."

Davis likely won't play another game for the Mavericks this season if they hold onto him, but Davis' hand injury hasn't driven all interested teams away just yet. It sounds like he could return at some point during the playoffs if his rehab goes smoothly, and Dallas may actually be able to move on from him before the February 5 trade deadline.

Mavericks may not be stuck with Anthony Davis after all

This is the exact news that Mavs fans who want Davis moved needed, as most fans feared that Dallas would be stuck with him heading into the offseason after he went down against the Utah Jazz last week. This was the last thing that the Mavericks needed, especially since he is pushing for an extension, but Dallas may actually be able to get out of the Anthony Davis business sooner rather than later.

This, of course, all depends on how much interest teams show in Davis as the trade deadline approaches, but the fact that his market isn't dead yet is extremely promising for Dallas. They may not be able to accumulate great value for him, but getting his contract off their books in exchange for expiring contracts and potentially a young asset or draft capital would be a win for the Mavericks at this point.

They have to accept that trading Luka Doncic for Davis is never going to shift in their direction and fully focus on a future with Cooper Flagg as their franchise cornerstone. The Mavericks have already made it clear that Flagg and Kyrie Irving are untouchable in trade talks, and moving on from Davis will fully flip the page on this failed era and allow the front office to focus on what's ahead.

It's hard to do that when you have two years remaining (after this season) on Davis' three-year, $175 million contract, and getting this money off their books while creating significant cap space is the next step to move forward.

There is no hope for Dallas to win now, as Nico Harrison envisioned when he swapped Luka Doncic for Davis, and the Mavericks are lucky that teams are even considering trading for the star big man in hopes that he can return at some point during the NBA Playoffs. This could end up working out perfectly for Dallas, and time will tell how much buzz Davis' name generates over the next 23 days.

Teams that have been interested in Davis include the Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, and even the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Mavericks could end up striking up a deal for him this season rather than taking this into the offseason.