Why the Mavericks sending Anthony Davis to Hawks makes sense

With Nico Harrison long gone and a new front office taking control, all bets are off in Dallas. The Mavericks are no longer operating under the assumptions that shaped their recent roster decisions. Outside of Cooper Flagg, every name on the roster is now, at least theoretically, available.

In that context, the idea of trading Anthony Davis no longer sounds absurd. It sounds plausible, especially if Atlanta is the trade partner.

A deal that sends Davis to the Hawks, with Dallas taking back matching salary plus one unprotected first-round pick and one lightly protected first, fits where both teams actually are.

Proposed trade framework

Atlanta receives

• Anthony Davis ($54,126,450)

• Dwight Powell ($4,000,000)

Dallas receives

• Kristaps Porziņgis ($30,731,707)

• Luke Kennard ($11,000,000)

• Zaccharie Risacher ($13,197,720)

Draft compensation to Dallas

• 2030 Atlanta first-round pick, unprotected

• 2032 Atlanta first-round pick, top-10 protected

When healthy, Davis is elite. That has never been the question. The problem is how much he costs and when Dallas needs him to matter.

Davis is owed more than $54 million in 2025-26 and nearly $121 million over the next two seasons. Stack that with Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson, and Dallas is tied to an expensive core that’s already drifting past its peak years.

The rest of the roster points somewhere else. Dereck Lively II is 21. Cooper Flagg is 19. Davis is 32, with a long injury history, and doesn’t line up with the part of the roster Dallas is clearly prioritizing.

Keeping him means betting that an aging, top-heavy group stays healthy long enough to justify the cost. Moving him means stepping away from that gamble.

What Dallas actually gains

Porziņgis gives Dallas a rental frontcourt scorer it can either flip or let walk this summer. Kennard adds shooting and a contract that can be easily moved. Former No. 1 pick Risacher brings youth and upside on a rookie deal that fits cleanly next to Flagg.

None of them replaces Davis individually. Together, they give Dallas flexibility for the future.

The picks matter even more. An unprotected Atlanta first in 2030 carries a chance to draft Flagg's co-star. The protected 2032 pick adds another future asset the Mavs can either trade or draft. 

Why Atlanta would do it

Atlanta’s side makes too much sense. 

The Hawks go all in on a Young-Davis-Jalen Johnson trio. Young scores and creates, but he’s never had a frontcourt partner who could erase mistakes on one end and punish teams on the other. Now he has two. 

Defensively, Davis gives Atlanta something it’s lacked for years: a bruising interior presence. Offensively, he becomes Young’s best screen partner, lob threat and release valve all at once. He doesn’t need plays called for him to affect the game, which matters on a team built around a ball-dominant guard and a point-forward in Johnson who is an excellent playmaker.

Powell’s inclusion is secondary, but he gives Atlanta a serviceable backup center and preserves rotation depth behind Davis.

The risk is obvious, and so is the alternative

Davis’ health will always cause panic. But the Hawks have depth up front, even after this trade.

Atlanta’s other option is staying exactly where it is, burning years of Young’s prime and Johnson's emergence while hoping draft picks and internal growth solve all its problems. That approach hasn’t worked yet. Why would it change? Make the big move. 

If Atlanta can get a Hall-of-Fame defensive anchor and go all in, in a weak Eastern Conference, that's a win. Dallas gets financial relief while going all-in on a rebuild armed with future picks and a roster that yields a potential high ceiling around Flagg.