According to a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania, Dallas Mavericks center Anthony Davis needs surgery on his left hand to repair ligament damage. If he remains with the Mavs past the trade deadline, his season is over.
If the 32-year-old Davis gets traded to a team bound for the playoffs, he could potentially return for a postseason run.
Dallas (15-25 straight up, 17-23 against the spread) doesn’t expect to be playing beyond the regular season. It’s been a massive fall for a franchise that was wrecked by the decision of its former general manager Nico Harrison, who made the most incomprehensible trade in the history of any sport last year.
Harrison ignorantly dealt Luka Doncic to the Lakers for Davis, Max Christie and a first-round pick in the 2029 NBA Draft. The GM was rightfully pink slipped nine months later.
After being traded to the Lakers last season, Doncic played in 28 regular-season games and averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game. In five postseason contests, he averaged 30.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.0 SPG.
In 30 games this season, Doncic is averaging 33.6 points, 8.7 assists, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 SPG. He’s helped the Lakers to a 23-14 SU record that has them in fifth place in the Western Conference standings.
Meanwhile, the oft-injured Davis only played in nine games for Dallas after the trade last year, averaging 20.0 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.2 blocked shots and 1.2 SPG. He’s only been on the court in 20 contests this season, averaging 20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.7 blocked shots and 1.1 SPG.
The Mavs are 10-10 with Davis in the lineup this year, but they’re 5-15 without him. They’re in 12th place in the West, 2.5 games behind Memphis for 10th and the final spot in the NBA’s Play-In Tournament.
The injury will make it more difficult for Dallas to move Davis ahead of the trade deadline, although it might be good with getting out of his contract for basically nothing in return.
If that comes to fruition, it will remove any (potential) doubt that Harrison’s incompetent move was the worst trade in the history of all sports.