Mavericks just dodged an Anthony Davis disaster barreling toward their future

The Dallas Mavericks may have just dodged one of their biggest risks heading into a future headlined by Cooper Flagg. That would be giving Anthony Davis a contract extension and doubling down on his future as one of Dallas' franchise cornerstones.

The Mavericks were once considering giving Anthony Davis a contract extension this summer rather than trading him, but Christian Clark and Sam Amick of The Athletic shut down this narrative on Wednesday morning with a bombshell report. They dove into the detailed intricacies of Davis' trade market as well as the Mavericks' thinking on all of this, and it sounds like Patrick Dumont and company aren't all aboard the Davis hype train.

Meaning that a future in Dallas with Anthony Davis as one of their superstars may be just an afterthought.

According to Amick and Clark, Davis' camp doesn't think Dallas wants to extend him this summer. Davis' representatives want him to be traded somewhere that a contract extension will be likely, and it doesn't seem like Dallas is going to be his long-term home if the latest rumblings are true.

Mavericks are moving past a future headlined by Anthony Davis

"Davis’ representatives do not believe there’s an extension agreement to be had with the Mavericks in the upcoming offseason," Amick and Clark wrote. "As such, the sources say, there is a strong desire from Davis’ camp to get him traded to a destination where they feel an extension would be more likely."

Rich Paul, Davis' agent, isn't going to let him finish the year somewhere that doesn't plan on offering him a contract extension, meaning that a trade from the Mavericks could be all but guaranteed before the February 5 trade deadline. Paul has even pushed for Dallas to be more intentional about gauging Davis' trade market, and the potential nightmare of Davis remaining a Maverick seems to be out the window.

Teams like the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors have shown interest in acquiring the star big man, and Dallas could end up landing a haul of assets if a team takes a chance on him.

Regardless though, let's set things straight.

Davis is one of the best big men in the NBA when he's fully healthy, and his effect on winning has been undeniable in Dallas. The Mavericks have now won 53 percent of the games that Davis has played in, and this is a massive difference from their performance when he has been out of the lineup.

Dallas has only won four of the 18 games that Davis has missed this season (22 percent winning percentage), and they look like a completely different team when he is on the floor. His defensive impact is incredible, and his dominance around the bucket is impossible to ignore.

But he can't stay on the floor, is 32 years old, and is eligible for a four-year, $275 million extension this summer. These are three things working against him at this point, and are likely all reasons that the Mavs may have a difficult time finding a trade suitor for him.

Davis has given the Mavericks everything that he has, but with Flagg now in the fold, they can't afford to compromise his future by giving Davis a massive contract extension. His injury history is too lengthy to even consider such a move, and the best path forward would be to trade him at some point over the next month.

The Mavericks want expiring contracts and young talent in any trade that involves Davis, and if Amick and Clark's report comes true, it sounds like he could be on the move as the trade deadline clock ticks down.

If Paul doesn't see the Mavericks giving Davis an extension at this time, it probably isn't going to happen at all, and he'll push for him to land somewhere that wants to lock him up for the future. It doesn't look like that's going to be in Dallas, and Mavericks fans may have just dodged a bullet that would've kicked off the Cooper Flagg era on the wrong foot.