The real win from the Mavericks’ Anthony Davis trade isn’t what you think

Most NBA media members and Dallas Mavericks fans were shocked when Dallas was able to get off Anthony Davis at the trade deadline in a decent deal with the Washington Wizards, as it was huge for Dallas to be able to get off the 33-year-old big man, who has notoriously been injury-prone throughout his career. However, the biggest win from the deal was the financial relief it provided Dallas in the short-term and the long-term.

Shedding Davis' salary opened up the Bi-Annual Exception (~$5.4 million) and the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (~$15 million) for Dallas this summer, and they'll also avoid paying him upwards of $120 million over the next two seasons. Davis has a player option in his age-34 season worth almost $63 million, and given he only played 20 games this past season and probably won't see another payday nearly as large in his career, there's almost no doubt he'd exercise that option.

Davis trade created avenues for Dallas they wouldn't have had

The Mavericks could use part of their exceptions to re-sign some of the players they got back in the Davis trade, such as Marvin Bagley III or Khris Middleton, but they could also go after prized free agents on the market with the MLE, such as Quentin Grimes or Ayo Dosunmu.

Dallas also has a $20.8 million trade exception created from the Davis deal that they could use at any point until February of 2027, so the financial flexibility created from this deal goes beyond just free agency. It will also make facilitating sign-and-trades easier should Dallas go in that direction at all this offseason.

With the Cooper Flagg era fully taking off, the Mavericks needed more flexibility in the short and long-term to be able to optimize the roster around the 19-year-old, as they don't control any of their first-round draft picks until 2031, barring this year. It was worth at least seeing what Flagg and Davis looked like together, but with Davis constantly being hurt and only getting older, there was no point in continuing this marriage.

The Davis deal makes building around Flagg a far clearer path now

Dallas still has strong veteran leadership in the form of Kyrie Irving and possibly even Klay Thompson for next season, so Flagg won't be without mentors who can help on the court next year with Davis gone. Add a lottery pick from this upcoming draft, as well as whatever moves Dallas can make over the offseason, to that equation, and the Mavericks could very well have a competitive roster next year, even if they aren't bona fide contenders.

Critics of the Davis trade will point to how Dallas only got one guaranteed first-round pick in the deal (30th pick in the 2026 draft), and didn't get any intriguing young players given AJ Johnson's tenure in Dallas thus far. However, with how steep Davis' decline was looking this season, it's a miracle Dallas even got the package for him that they did, as it provides a huge amount of financial relief, and they also got a few second-round picks in return as well.

The Davis deal was the exact type of trade Dallas needed to help jettison the Flagg era, hence why Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi can't be discounted as being the next GM(s) of the organization. Dallas may not have gotten even close to what they gave up for Davis ultimately, but given the circumstances, they got as much as they could, with the financial flexibility being the biggest win from the deal.

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