Mavericks dodged a rumored Anthony Davis trade that threatened the Cooper Flagg era

The Dallas Mavericks are fully entrenched on their path to future glory under the Cooper Flagg regime. The painful memories of Luka Doncic are slowly fading into the ether, and Anthony Davis’ brief stint in Dallas is now an afterthought after he was traded to the Washington Wizards.

But things could have turned out much differently if the Mavs had traded Davis to the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors were rumored to be interested in Davis’ services before the trade deadline. But any trade with Golden State would have almost certainly included mercurial forward Draymond Green.

Draymond Green wouldn't fit into the Mavericks' rebuild timeline

Alas, the Cooper Flagg timeline and Green’s final grasps at NBA immortality would have been a toxic mix that no chemist could solve. It would have been combustible from the start. A reunion with former teammate Klay Thompson just wasn't in the cards.

Dallas continues to acquire draft capital and young players to build around Flagg. And leveraging those assets for an ornery veteran out of his prime seems extremely counterproductive in the long-term.

A recent list by Bleacher Report ranks Green as the most overrated player in the National Basketball Association today. Once a defensive stalwart, Golden State is now only marginally better when Green is on the floor, and his 0.8 steals per game is the lowest since his rookie season.

Also, Green’s 3-point prowess has always been sporadic at best. He’s shooting just 32 percent from downtown this season, coupled with a dismal 40.9 percent from the field. So he would actually shrink the floor for a Dallas team that is trying to add spacing for players like Flagg and Irving to operate.

Green also prefers to function in a point-forward role on offense, locating shooters like Stephen Curry for a myriad of catch-and-shoot opportunities off screens, back-door cuts, and dribble handoffs.

However, Irving and Flagg will most likely handle the bulk of Dallas’ ball-handling duties moving forward, rendering Green’s greatest skill set null and void.

Green’s accolades speak for themselves. He’s a four-time NBA champion. A four-time NBA All-Star. A nine-time All-Defensive team member and the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year. And he always plays with a proverbial chip on his shoulder.

But his presence on a team burns the candle at both ends. His annual verbal confrontations with his head coach, Steve Kerr, have been well-documented over the years and have fatigued even his staunchest of supporters. I can’t see Dallas head coach Jason Kidd wanting to be next in line for that experience. Just saying.

Green is at a point in his career where every year is a championship-or-bust window for him. That doesn’t fit the current rebuild timeline Dallas has committed to crafting around Cooper Flagg.

The Mavericks are preaching patience to their congregation, and Green is infamously known for having anything but that. Acquiring his services would have sent the wrong message and alienated the fans.

Green would be more suited to a team already in championship contention, and only time will tell if Golden State comes to that same realization.

He’s just a few weeks shy of his 36th birthday and has one year left on a 4-year, $100 million contract that began in the 2023-24 season. He has a player option for next season, and he might be looking to cash in on one last big payday before he rides off into the sunset.

In hindsight, the Mavs front office was wise to pass on acquiring Green despite his decorated resume. Balancing the ecosystem of an NBA team is a sweet science.  Adding the wrong ingredient could upset that delicate balance at the most inopportune time.

Sometimes the best move is the move you don't make. No matter how tempting the offer.