Mavericks fail to land endlessly-rumored move after Anthony Davis blockbuster

Following the Dallas Mavericks' trade of Anthony Davis yesterday, many media members and fans thought another move would be coming for the Mavericks, but it ended up not being the one they expected.

Dallas rerouted Malaki Branham to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for point guard Tyus Jones shortly ahead of the 2 p.m. CST trade deadline today, but most Mavericks fans were expecting Daniel Gafford to be the next Maverick traded, as Gafford was the most highly-rumored trade chip on Dallas' roster outside of Davis this season.

There were rumors leading up to today that the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks were having talks with Dallas in regard to acquiring Gafford to address their center situations, but the Pacers opted to trade for Ivica Zubac instead, while the Hawks traded for Jock Landale. There were reports surfacing yesterday that the Hawks were pining to give Dallas second-round pick compensation instead of first-round compensation for Gafford, and this very well could've been the holdup in a potential deal.

Mavs will be keeping Daniel Gafford for the rest of the season at the least

Had Gafford gone to Indiana, perhaps Dallas could've gotten an intriguing young wing/guard in Bennedict Mathurin, as he ended up going to the LA Clippers in the Zubac deal, but failing to trade Gafford at the deadline isn't the end of the world for Dallas whatsoever.

While Gafford was listed as the most likely Maverick to be traded ahead of the deadline, the Davis deal essentially came out of left field, and Dallas accomplished their main priority of acquiring picks and a young asset this deadline regardless. If Dallas didn't trade Davis and still failed to trade Gafford, this would be an entirely different discussion, but with Dereck Lively II already out for the rest of the season and Davis now gone, keeping Gafford in the center rotation isn't a bad bet at all.

Even though the Mavericks would prefer to lose more games than they win down the stretch of the season, a center rotation of Moussa Cisse, Dwight Powell, and Marvin Bagley III would've been a very tough watch on a lot of nights. Gafford is easily Dallas' best center right now on both ends of the court when he's healthy, and he'll give Dallas' guards and Cooper Flagg a more viable pick-and-roll partner than any other big on the roster for the rest of the season.

While Gafford's annual salary will increase by almost $3 million next season due to the extension he signed last summer, the Mavericks can always opt to look for deals for him in the summer or next season if they want to, and it's not the worst thing in the world to keep him around given how scary Lively II's health woes have been in his young career thus far.

Gafford's developed into a fan-favorite in Dallas, and while he's had one of the worst seasons of his career in large part due to recurring ankle injuries on his right foot, he was essential to Dallas' NBA Finals run in 2024, which can't be taken for granted. Dallas could probably get more value for Gafford next season if he's playing better and healthier anyways, but for now, hopefully Gafford can actually get somewhat healthy down the stretch of the season and get back to his old self.