Anthony Davis helped the Los Angeles Lakers win a championship — of course fans still want nothing but the best for him. Those dreaming of new threads in the immediate future for the former Lakers big man are in for a rough hit. Christian Clark of The Athletic is suggesting Davis might be staying put.
Clark wrote, "According to team sources The Athletic has spoken with, the [Dallas] Mavericks are signaling a desire to be competitive for the rest of the season. even though Dallas’ 2026 first-round pick is the last of its own first-round picks it has outright control of until 2031."
Clark added one of the main reasons for the shift in approach has to do with the belief there is too much talent on the Mavericks roster to truly make up ground on the bottom feeders in the NBA. That makes Dallas comfortable with holding their position.
The Mavericks reporter did say there will still be an expectation of listening to offers. That would include conversations about Davis. However, there will be no urgency for Dallas to trade anyone without a good deal.
"In other words, don’t assume Dallas will hold a fire sale," Clark concluded.
Anthony Davis could stay in Dallas until the 2026 offseason
The good news for Davis, should he want to force the issue a bit, is his contract. The former Lakers champion has only one more guaranteed year on his deal for 2026-27 before a player option for 2027-28. That gives the Mavericks big man leverage.
If Davis desires to relocate during the offseason, the cards are in his favor. The added piece of good news could be that Dallas would be willing to fully cooperate by then.
Clark said the summer would set the perfect stage for the Mavericks to move on from Davis. The idea would be Dallas using the opportunity to build up the value of the 10-time All-Star throughout the remainder of 2025-26 before capitalizing on that.
The offseason does also tend to be when teams believe in themselves a touch more. There were playoff contenders reportedly lining up now for Davis, but the Mavericks could get a bigger pool of them to fight over a star big man who has firmly reestablish his value by the summer.
That much makes sense for Dallas. It should also still give Davis every opportunity to play truly meaningful basketball once more, even if there is an added waiting period to do so.