Mavericks can't risk ignoring this Anthony Davis trade to launch Cooper Flagg era

Fans of the Dallas Mavericks were waiting for the day when the team would fire Nico Harrison as the team's general manager. That day arrived on Tuesday. Even with Harrison fired, there is still a lot of work to be done. Some of that work involves Anthony Davis.

With the Mavericks struggling and Davis injured, trading away the player that Harrison landed in the Luka Doncic trade may be an idea to erase part of Harrison's tenure and completely enter the Cooper Flagg era. It may be a while before the Mavericks get out of the hole they're in, even with Harrison fired. Trade projections are going to be made around Davis for a while, especially considering how bad the Mavericks are, and Dallas should definitely hear out offers for their star big man.

Now, a new Bleacher Report idea has Davis being traded to an early title contender in 2026, and Dallas should hear them out.

Trading Anthony Davis to Detroit would kickstart the Cooper Flagg era

Recently, Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley wrote an article titled "1 Trade Every NBA Team Would Make If The Deadline Was Today." Buckley believes that a good move for the Mavericks to explore would be trading Davis to the Detroit Pistons. The projected trade Buckley created for Davis to the Pistons is too good for the Mavericks to pass up.

The trade package that Buckley projected the Mavericks to receive from the Pistons in this mock deal sure is a big one, and it's one that is too good for the Mavericks to turn down if it were to happen. They need to get as much value as they can for Davis if they're set on moving on from him, and acquiring two first-round picks along with frontcourt depth and a promising young guard in Ivey is a good start.

This trade is more about two things: getting rid of Davis' salary and getting some much-needed draft capital to kick off the Flagg era.

When the Mavericks traded away Doncic, some were stunned that the team only got one first-round draft pick from the Los Angeles Lakers. In this case, the Mavericks would get two first-round draft picks for Davis. This is something that is too good to pass up, even though the 2026 first-round pick may be a late one with Detroit's early success.

Along with getting two other second-round draft picks, the Mavericks can free up cap space by trading away Davis. As good as Davis is, the injury history is evident. Davis simply can't be healthy when it matters, and it's hurting the Mavericks big time.

The players the Mavericks would receive may not be on the team for long. Harris is on an expiring contract and has played just six games all season. The chances of Harris returning could be slim with his inconsistent abilities.

Stewart has a team option after the 2026-27 season. This season, Stewart has been good defensively and averages over two blocks a game. Stewart can help make up for Davis' absence with his ability to block shots. It's also worth noting that the Pistons have allowed him to stretch the floor and shoot threes once again, and Dallas badly needs a big man who can knock down threes at a high clip.

Like Harris, Ivey will be a free agent after this season. While Ivey hasn't played this year, he's averaged over 16 points per game in his three-year NBA career as a combo guard. With Klay Thompson's season being awful thus far, Ivey can be a player to give Dallas much-needed guard depth and become a future piece of their young core (if they decide to re-sign him following this season).

The Mavericks would get two steady players in Stewart and Ivey, plus plenty of draft capital from the Pistons for Davis. A roster shake-up is needed at this point, and Dallas should go all-in on building around Flagg by milking some of the Pistons' draft capital for Davis and acquiring two young pieces in Ivey and Stewart.