Anthony Davis was the centerpiece in the return that the Dallas Mavericks got when they stunned the sports world by trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February.
Dallas then won the recent NBA Draft Lottery and all reports indicate that they intend to select former Duke superstar Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick, so could Davis find his way out of “Big D” this summer?
With the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder beginning on Thursday night, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey came up with “At Least 1 Trade Idea for Every Team” not taking part in the championship round.
One of his proposals sees “AD” being traded to the Charlotte Hornets.
Trade for Dallas Would be ‘About Getting Out of the Contract of a Post-Prime and Oft-Injured Davis’
Here’s the trade idea from Bailey:
– Hornets receive: Anthony Davis
– Mavericks receive: Jusuf Nurkic, Miles Bridges, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2031 first-round pick
The Bleacher Report scribe writes that the presumed upcoming selection of Flagg to build a franchise around could certainly impact Davis’ future with the Mavericks.
“An about-face and AD trade just aren’t happening under his regime. But ownership has put some guardrails around (general manager Nico Harrison) since the deal, generally trying to keep him out of the public eye and monitoring his work a little more carefully going forward. The guardrails seem high enough to wonder why he’s even still there,” Bailey wrote. “And if Dallas (particularly governor Patrick Dumont) realize the best path forward is a new lead executive and a rebuild around eventual No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg, an AD trade could at least partially make up for the fact that Harrison didn’t extract near enough value out of the Luka deal. The trade above is exactly that kind of move.”
While Davis is still an All-Star-caliber big man (earning his 10th recognition this season), he’s 32 years old and has only played more than 62 games in the regular season once in the past seven campaigns.
“This is about getting out of the contract of a post-prime and oft-injured Davis (who’s far more expensive than Nurkić and Bridges and under contract through 2028) and picking up multiple picks with which to build around Flagg,” Bailey wrote. “For Charlotte, this would obviously be a move to send it in the opposite direction of the one laid out above. Pursuing Davis would almost certainly mean keeping (LaMelo) Ball. Those two would be a dynamic inside-out combo, especially with Miller providing some floor spacing on their flank.”
What Could Charlotte’s Starting 5 Look Like With This Potential Deal?
As Bailey noted, this possible blockbuster would give the Hornets a terrific one-two punch of Davis and former All-Star and Rookie of the Year point guard LaMelo Ball. Depending on how the rest of the offseason goes, the rest of Charlotte’s starting unit could include shooting guard Josh Green, 2023 second overall pick Brandon Miller at small forward and big man Mark Williams joining Davis in the frontcourt.
The Hornets only acquired veteran center Jusuf Nurkic in early February in a deal with the Phoenix Suns, but the “Bosnian Beast’s” contract expires after the upcoming season. Nurkic spent the entire 2023-24 campaign with Phoenix but had a nasty falling out with first-year head coach Mike Budenholzer over the winter, leading to the trade.
Miles Bridges has spent his entire career with Charlotte since being traded to the team ahead of the 2018 NBA Draft.
After a breakout 2021-22 season where he averaged 20.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists, Bridges missed the entire 2022-23 campaign. He was suspended 30 games by the NBA in April 2023 due to a domestic violence incident and returned the next season.
He’s bounced back the last two years to average a career-high 21.0 points across 69 games during the 2023-24 campaign and career highs in rebounds (7.5) and assists per contest (3.9) over 64 games in 2024-25.
