Rich Paul wants Anthony Davis trade before the deadline if the latest rumors are true

The Dallas Mavericks have obvious incentives for trading Anthony Davis ahead of the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline, like the need to shift their focus forward and the risk of further injury issues completely cratering his market value. Turns out, the motivations for a pre-deadline deal might be even stronger on Davis' side.

As ESPN's Tim MacMahon revealed on The Hoop Collective, it's become "very clear" that Davis' agent, Rich Paul, wants to see Davis traded. The reasoning? Paul's belief that Davis would be more likely to be given an extension elsewhere when he becomes eligible in August.

Anthony Davis' future might be more stable away from Dallas.

The Mavericks, it appears, have ruled out nothing with Davis. Their stance on a contract extension is more of a "Well, we'll see" than a "no," according to MacMahon. And while they're fielding offers for Davis, they "do not feel like they have to trade" him and won't move him "just to make a deal."

All options seem on the table, in other words, and maybe that creates greater uncertainty than Davis and Paul would prefer.

Because even if Davis has one more huge-dollar deal in his future, he almost certainly doesn't have two. The next time he hits free agency, he'll be either 34 or 35, depending on what he does with his $62.8 million player option for 2027-28. For a big man with his kind of injury history, clubs might want to be as cautious as they can be with his next contract.

Then again, Paul clearly feels that some suitors would be more willing to lock up Davis for the long haul than the Mavericks are. And if his hunch is right, it's his business-of-basketball duty to push for his client to land with one of those clubs.

Because Dallas has no reason to rush into any agreement with Davis beyond what it already has. Even if the Mavs are curious over how things could look with Davis, Cooper Flagg, and Kyrie Irving on the floor together—perhaps (fingers crossed) with a 2026 lottery pick alongside them—they don't need new contract terms to take that look. They'll have it under the current arrangement if they want it.

Paul knows all of this. He also understands that further injury issues for Davis could be catastrophic when it comes to his next contract. And that the best of order of business, then, would be getting an extension signed sooner than later.

This shouldn't change anything for Dallas, though. If the Mavs want to move Davis for a fresh-start feeling around Flagg, they can. If they just want to keep their ears open in case someone wants to overpay for Davis, they should do that. Paul has to keep his client's best interests in mind, but the Mavericks will rightfully focus on their own.