Rumors: Mavericks divided on franchise-altering Anthony Davis decision

Ever since the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on February 1, their season has spiraled out of control. From multiple season-ending injuries to a coach getting arrested to fan outrage about anything and everything, this organization has been through a whirlwind of emotions over the last 46 days.

One of the most catastrophic events since the trade went down was Anthony Davis getting injured with an adductor strain in his Mavs debut on February 8, and things have never been the same since. Dallas has gone 5-11 in the 16 games since Davis went down, with three of those five wins being within two weeks of the injury.

Dallas has been on an awful losing spell over the last few weeks, causing them to slide down to the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference, which is far below what fans could have ever expected considering the team was in the NBA Finals last season, but help may be on the way in the form of Davis. He practiced with the Texas Legends earlier this week to get in some five-on-five work, and he is hoping to make a return to the floor sometime soon.

Internal doubts cloud Anthony Davis' return plan

Davis' return would undoubtedly help the Mavs win some games over the final weeks of the season, but the main thought that has been flooding fans' minds over the last few days is wondering if it would even be worth it to bring him back. There seems to be some disagreement on both sides of this conversation among fans, and from early reporting of this situation, the Mavericks share some of the same skepticism that many fans have when it comes to the superstar big man returning to the floor.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Davis is eager to get back on the floor at some point soon, but some members from inside the organization don't feel the same excitement as Davis for him to return this season.

"There are people close to the situation that are not convinced that him coming back is a good idea," Stein said. "The discussion is, since this Luka trade, I think the Mavs understand this as acutely as anyone. Everything that could go wrong for this team has gone wrong. And in that kind of vibe, do you want to bring Anthony Davis back and just risk anything bad happening to him?"

Stein made it clear that the Mavericks will only bring him back if he shows that his injury has healed enough to play, and the choice of bringing back or not bringing back Davis could define the rest of this season for Dallas. There could still end up being a risk of him getting re-injured, regardless of how healthy he looks right now, and some sort of other injury happening would be devastating for the Mavs and their future.

They gave up everything to get Davis on their roster, and him not having a full offseason to prepare for one of the biggest seasons in Mavs history would be a major downer for Dallas. Nico Harrison's vision of winning a title over the next few years still has a chance of coming true as soon as next season, but that thought should be thrown out the window this season. Davis was the guy that Harrison wanted badly, so badly that he traded Doncic, and he can't risk making this trade any worse than it already is. Shutting Davis down may be the best plan, regardless of how he feels about it.

If Kyrie Irving were still healthy, that could be a different story for this season, but the obvious outlook for this team is that they don't have the squad to win a playoff series in the West, even if Davis comes back. It seems like the risk of bringing Davis back highly outweighs the reward of allowing him to return, and the Mavericks have a monumental decision to make soon that could define their future.

Dallas' bad luck over the last few weeks has been unbelievable and unprecedented, and bringing back the new franchise superstar to play 10 games in this type of environment is unneeded. The Mavericks need as good of a lottery pick as possible this summer, and bringing Davis back would undoubtedly hurt their odds, as his return would lead to more wins.

It's time to close this chapter which is the 2024-25 Dallas Mavericks season, and it seems like the best plan for both sides involved is for Davis to make his heroic entrance back into the story at the beginning of the next chapter rather than for the end of this one that will undoubtedly end short of their goal of winning the NBA Finals. While the end of Davis' journey is nowhere close to being over, it's time to realize that he may just not be a part of the story until chapter two.