Mavericks' nonstop trade rumor threatens to ruin Anthony Davis' biggest wish

Daniel Gafford has long been reported as the Dallas Mavericks' most tradeable player, and these rumors are bound to take away Anthony Davis' opportunity to play power forward if a deal materializes soon. Gafford has been in trade rumors dating back to last season, and it seemed like destiny that he would be moved at some point this season after signing a team-friendly extension over the offseason.

Davis has been in serious trade rumors of his own recently, but if the Mavericks move on from Gafford and keep Davis, he will likely be strictly playing center for the rest of the year. Although Davis is out of the lineup due to a groin injury, Jason Kidd has begun to experiment with lineups that slate Davis at the four and Gafford at the five.

These units have produced varying results, but Kidd at least seems dedicated to trying these lineups out when the opportunity presents itself. He wants to maximize the roster they have, as playing Davis at the four some allows Gafford to play more minutes, but his dream of dominating as a primary power forward could quickly disintegrate following the trade deadline if he remains in Dallas.

A Daniel Gafford trade means Anthony Davis will only play center

Even Kidd admitted that Davis needs to play the five right now to put the Mavericks in a position to win, and Davis' longstanding preference has been pushed to the side for the betterment of the team.

Dating back to his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, Davis has preferred to play power forward rather than center. He doesn't like the rigor of playing the five and battling down low with other bigs on every possession, and playing the four allows him to roam on defense and showcase his entire offensive game rather than being restricted to playing on the low block (despite him being at his best in that area).

He was excited to step into a situation in which he could play power forward often after being traded to the Mavs for Luka Doncic, as Gafford and Dereck Lively II were already the team's established centers. The Mavericks envisioned a world in which Davis, Lively II, and Gafford controlled the paint, and they dominated with size and strength, but that vision has crumbled due to injuries.

Gafford, Lively II, and Davis have all been available for the same game just five times dating back to when Davis was traded to the Mavericks on February 1, and each player has dealt with at least one significant injury over the last 10 months.

With this in mind, Davis has spent most of his time as a Maverick playing center. Mavericks fans got to see spurts of him playing power forward last season alongside Gafford or Lively II at certain moments, but he has only spent seven percent of his minutes this season at power forward.

This trend will continue as things stand, and trading Gafford will only increase Davis' time at center.

As of right now, Davis and Gafford are the only bigs that Kidd seems to trust, and it doesn't seem like Davis would often share the floor with Dwight Powell if Gafford is traded. He would likely get stuck playing all of his minutes at the five, and this was the last thing that he expected after Nico Harrison pushed all of his chips to the center of the table to trade for him.