Dumping Anthony Davis wasn't even the biggest win in Mavericks' blockbuster trade

For the second consecutive trade deadline in a row, the Dallas Mavericks made a massive blockbuster deal, but the public consensus on this deal won't be nearly as harsh as last year with the Luka Doncic trade. The Mavericks traded Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards earlier today, despite skepticism over whether Davis would be traded by this deadline or not, but the biggest win in this deal for the Mavericks may have been getting rid of three negative assets.

Dallas parted ways with Dante Exum, Jaden Hardy, and D'Angelo Russell in this massive eight-player deal, and getting rid of these players makes their return package for Davis seem even more astonishing. Exum has missed the entire regular season due to a right knee procedure, while Russell has been completely removed from Jason Kidd's rotation. Hardy, on the other hand, hasn't shown much improvement through four seasons in Dallas, even if he's still only 23 years old.

Rumors were swirling that Dallas may only be able to get expiring contracts for Davis, yet they got two future first-round picks, three future second-round picks, while parting with the three most negative assets on their team, maybe besides Caleb Martin (though he's played better recently).

Mavericks' biggest win in Davis trade is getting off three negative assets

Even if the two first-round picks Dallas got back for Davis will be later in the first round, it still feels like the Mavericks won this deal from a value standpoint, as they likely would've had to attach draft capital of their own to get off Exum and Russell's contracts. Russell will almost certainly pick up his player option in Washington next season, and the Mavericks relieve themselves of the nearly $6 million salary he would've assumed on their books next season.

As much as Exum contributed to Dallas' 2024 NBA Finals run and had some great moments as a Maverick, his lack of availability was a growing concern last season, and it didn't seem like there was any chance he'd be coming back to Dallas after being announced to miss the entirety of this season despite re-signing on a veteran's minimum deal this past summer.

Critics of this deal will point out how Dallas is still big losers because of the trade return for Davis essentially being what Dallas is getting back for Doncic at the end of the day, but many of those people aren't watching the Mavericks day in and day out, so they don't understand the importance of getting off players like Hardy, Exum, and Russell as well.

The Mavericks now have a clear direction to build around Cooper Flagg for the future, whilst also being able to offload some of their most negative assets as well, which is all they could've hoped for after Davis only appeared in 29 games for the Mavericks since he was traded for Doncic last year.