- NBA
It’s a huge bummer any time a player suffers a long injury. This one might eventually work out in Dallas’ favor, though.
by Ricky O'DonnellJan 9, 2026, 11:29 PM UTC
NBAE via Getty Images
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.Anthony Davis was the biggest name on the NBA trade block following the Trae Young trade to the Washington Wizards. Now the Mavs star is out indefinitely with a ligament damage in his left hand suffered in Thursday’s loss to the Utah Jazz. Davis could need surgery, and he’s likely to be sidelined beyond the Feb. 5 trade deadline, essentially taking him off the market.
It’s brutal blow for Davis just as he started playing his best ball of the year, but it’s hardly surprising. Davis is one of the most injury prone superstars of this era, and his lack of availability was always going to factor into his trade value just as much as his massive contract. Davis is owed $58.4 million in Dallas next year, then has a $62.7 million player option for the 2026-27 season. He turns 33 years in March.
This injury shouldn’t have a long-term impact on Davis the same way a lower-body injury would. While Mavs fans are bummed to see him go down before a potential trade out of a town, I actually think this could be a blessing in disguise for Dallas for a few different reasons.
Davis didn’t have much trade value right now anyway
Could the Mavs had landed a first-round pick back for Davis in a trade? That’s the big question, and I’m dubious. Instead, the most likely deal out there was from the Atlanta Hawks, and seemed to be headlined by Kristaps Porzingis and Zaccharie Risacher. This move would have cleared up Dallas’ cap sheet long-term with Porzingis on an expiring deal, but it wouldn’t have moved the needle for its long-term roster building plans all that much in my opinion. Risacher, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024, has been wildly disappointing this season, with a −1.8 EPM that ranks in the 35th percentile of all players. My own 2024 pre-draft board doesn’t look very good right now, but I had Risacher ranked outside the top-10, so it was always shocking to see him go No. 1 overall.
There just didn’t seem to be a good deal out there for the Mavs, so this injury isn’t costing them some huge haul of assets.
The Mavs can ethically tank for the loaded 2026 NBA Draft now
Dallas has to make its 2026 first-round pick count. The Mavs do not control their first-round pick in 2027 (top-2 protected to Charlotte), 2028 (swapped to OKC), 2029 (swapped to Houston), or 2030 (swapped to San Antonio). That was the cost of the Mavs trying to build around Luka Doncic, and now all those picks are handicapping the team’s ability to build around Flagg.
The Mavs had to tank this year, but the NBA lottery gods typically don’t reward blatant tankers. Instead, the ping-pong balls tend to bounce the right way for teams dealing bad luck. Look no further than the 2025 lottery results, when Dallas cashed in long-shot odds for Flagg after the Doncic trade, and the Spurs jumped way up to No. 2 after Victor Wembanyama’s season-ending injury. The Mavs now get to check the bad luck box while losing lots of games to improve their lottery position with Davis out. Dallas’ ownership group (the same people who didn’t block the Luka trade) didn’t seem to want to tank, and now the team doesn’t really have any choice.
For all his issues, Davis is still really good, and taking him off the floor is going to hurt the Mavs’ on-court product quite a bit.
If the Mavs traded Davis, the pieces they would have gotten back would have helped them win games to some extent (Porzingis has been awesome this year when he’s been available, for example). If they kept Davis, he would have probably had them pushing for the play-in tournament. This injury essentially ensures that Dallas’ lottery odds will go up more than they would have in any other scenario. Mavs fans, read my new mock draft here.
Now Dallas gets to see Davis with Kyrie Irving, Cooper Flagg, and their 2026 pick
Kyrie Irving will be back at full strength from his torn ACL next year that has sidelined him all season. Flagg will be in his second season and should take a huge leap. This hand injury won’t linger for Davis, and the Mavs will be debuting a top-10 rookie draft pick (ideally top-3 for their sake).
The Mavs can’t tank next season because Charlotte very likely has their pick. They also can’t tank in the three years after that. Dallas’ best move feels like praying for lottery luck, then seeing what Davis and Kyrie can do next to Flagg and their 2026 rookie while tinkering with the pieces around the margins. This plan requires A.J. Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, or Darryn Peterson to really hit big, but that’s the case for most team-building plans. Luck is a huge part of NBA success. It took a ridiculous amount of luck for the Mavs to land Flagg, and they will need more to build a decent team around him in the West with so many future picks already out the door before he arrived.
Davis has two years under contract after this season. He’s still really good when he’s at his best. Flagg is absolute stud, and Boozer, Peterson, and Dybantsa have a chance to be every bit as good. Dallas could be pretty interesting next year if the chips fall the right way. It’s a huge bummer any time a player suffers a long injury, especially one as great as Davis. This one might eventually work out in Dallas’ favor, though.
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