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NBA Trade Idea Pairs Anthony Davis With LaMelo Ball

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated Jun 6, 2025 11:02 PM ET

The Dallas Mavericks shocked the sports world in February when they traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Mavericks, who made the NBA Finals last year, acquired Anthony Davis and Max Christie from the Lakers in the blockbuster deal.

Davis only appeared in nine regular-season games with the Mavericks because of an adductor injury. He put up 20.0 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 0.6 steals and 2.2 blocks per game.

Davis, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson just played in one game together. Irving tore his left ACL in March and was lost for the season.

The Mavericks missed the playoffs this year, but they did win the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery. The franchise is widely expected to draft Duke's Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick.

Dallas general manager Nico Harrison targeted Davis in the Doncic trade because he believes defense wins championships. Harrison is not going to trade Davis unless the big man requests a trade.

However, Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report proposed a wild trade idea where the Mavericks trade Davis to the Charlotte Hornets for Miles Bridges, Jusuf Nurkic, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2029 first-round pick and a 2031 first-round pick.

This trade would give Dallas the multiple draft picks that fans and league experts thought Harrison should have gotten for Doncic.

Meanwhile, Nurkic only has one year left on his contract, while Bridges has just two.

The Hornets would get a future Hall of Famer (Davis) for LaMelo Ball, who needs more talent around him to win in Charlotte.

Ball has yet to make the playoffs since entering the NBA in 2020.

"This is about getting out of the contract of a post-prime and oft-injured Davis (who's far more expensive than Nurkic 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 Ball. Those two would be a dynamic inside-out combo, especially with Brandon Miller providing some floor spacing on their flank."

Davis is 32 years old. He will make $54.1 million next season. The Chicago native has played for the New Orleans Pelicans, Lakers and Mavericks, posting career averages of 24.1 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.3 blocks.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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