The only way the Mavericks will trade Anthony Davis is painfully obvious

Anthony Davis has been in trade rumors for months now, but the only way that the Dallas Mavericks will trade him this season is if they receive a return that they deem fair for the 10-time All-Star big man. This, of course, is a given considering that Dallas gave up Luka Doncic to bring in Davis in the middle of his age-31 season, but it's important to note that the Mavericks aren't in a rush to trade him.

There is no sense of desperation in Dallas to ship off Davis nearly a year after acquiring him in exchange for Doncic, and they have no reason to trade him now if they don't feel like the deal benefits them.

They're perfectly fine with keeping Davis until the offseason and exploring trades then, as moving on from him now wouldn't even be worth it. Davis once had multiple aggressive suitors, including the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks, but both teams have backed off recently.

Anthony Davis could stay in Dallas after all

On top of rumored suitors backing off, Davis' value seems to be just expiring contracts. Not receiving a young asset or any draft capital would be an absolute nightmare in a Davis trade, but this wasn't always the case.

His trade value sank significantly about three weeks ago when he suffered ligament damage in his left hand against the Utah Jazz, and even with him electing to avoid surgery, teams no longer crave Davis. He was once thought of as someone who could shift the entire composition of the Eastern Conference if traded there due to how impactful his addition would be, but his injuries this season have changed everything.

The idea that Davis was injury-prone was further solidified since his time with the Mavericks, and even though he is set to return later this season, teams aren't buying it. Trade suitors are targeting players who can help them now as they gear up for the playoffs, but Davis isn't in that boat.

He likely won't play until the end of next month or March, and whoever trades for him would be forced to have him on the bench for the first few weeks of his journey with the team. This is the exact situation the Mavericks were in when they traded for Davis, and teams won't want to repeat this mistake.

Despite being one of the most talented players on the trade market, his unreliability and durability issues have proven to be a major issue once again. His time in Dallas hasn't done him any favors on the trade front, but they're not panicking yet.

Patrick Dumont notably wants to see Davis play alongside Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving, and waiting to trade him would at least give them this chance. There are quietly some silver linings to keeping Davis for the time being, including evaluating other trade options and being forced to pick a direction. On top of this, his trade value could be higher when he is fully healthy over the offseason.

The Mavs could still strike up a deal and send Davis elsewhere before the February 5 trade deadline, but it's clear that the only way they'll do this is if they like the return. He has not entered must-trade territory yet, and it doesn't seem like he will over the next nine days.