Dallas Mavericks Trade Anthony Davis After Only 29 Games

DALLAS, TX — The Dallas Mavericks agreed to trade 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards in an eight-player deal that clears salary and draft capital as the franchise pivots to building around No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, sources told ESPN.

Dallas will send Davis and guards Jaden Hardy, D’Angelo Russell and Dante Exum to Washington for Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, two first-round draft picks and three second-rounders, according to sources. The first-rounders are Oklahoma City’s 2026 pick and Golden State’s top-20-protected selection in 2030.

The move caps months of trade exploration involving Davis, who arrived in Dallas as the centerpiece of last season’s blockbuster that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Davis played only 29 games for the Mavericks because of injuries and has been sidelined since early January with ligament damage in his left hand.

Dallas’ decision to reshape the roster accelerated after governor Patrick Dumont fired former general manager Nico Harrison in November amid fan backlash to the Doncic trade. With the deal, the Mavericks shed Hardy’s $6 million salary and Russell’s $6 million player option for next season while taking back primarily expiring contracts in Middleton, Branham and Bagley.

The trade drops Dallas below the luxury tax this season, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, and reduces next season’s guaranteed payroll to about $150 million. The flexibility comes as the Mavericks prepare for an offseason in which they are likely to hold another lottery pick.

Washington, meanwhile, acquired Davis with the intention of competing next season after a prolonged rebuild. A team source said the Wizards prioritized keeping their own premium draft picks and young core — including Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly and Tre Johnson — out of the deal. Davis, 32, is averaging 20.1 points and 11.1 rebounds in 20 games this season.

Davis becomes the second accomplished but injured star added by the Wizards this season. Washington traded for Trae Young last month, though the guard has not played since December because of knee and quadriceps injuries.

In Dallas, the trade underscores a dramatic shift following improbable draft-lottery luck. The Mavericks won the No. 1 pick despite just a 1.8% chance, landing Flagg, a 19-year-old forward widely viewed as a generational talent. Flagg has averaged 20.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists despite an injury-depleted roster around him.

After the Doncic deal, Harrison had said the Mavericks’ championship window would be “three to four years” with a core led by Davis and Kyrie Irving. That pairing played only one game together. Davis suffered an adductor strain in his Dallas debut that sidelined him for six weeks, and Irving tore his ACL less than a month later and has yet to return.

The Mavericks (19-31) entered Wednesday on a five-game losing streak, sitting 12th in the Western Conference, 3.5 games behind 10th-place Portland (23-28).