Anthony Davis Returns to Mavs in Crisis

On Feb. 8, Anthony Davis recorded 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in his Mavericks debut. Then he left in the third quarter with an adductor strain, ruining a promising start to his Mavericks tenure while the team continued to face harsh criticism in the wake of the trade that sent Luka Dončić to the Lakers for Davis, guard Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick.

Virtually nothing has gone right for the Mavericks since then.

Despite initial optimism from Davis that his injury was not serious, the 32-year-old was sidelined for six weeks before returning in the Mavericks’ 120–101 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night. Davis played 27 minutes and had 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and a block in the victory. The Mavericks are now 34–37 and tied with the Phoenix Suns for 10th place and the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.

While Davis recovered from his injury:

• Fans continued protesting the trade inside and outside Dallas’s home arena.
• The Lakers went on a winning streak with their new pairing of Dončić and LeBron James.
• Franchise legend Dirk Nowitzki described his reaction to the trade as “shocked … disappointed and sad.”
• Nike’s Jordan Brand staged an ad campaign around the Mavericks’ seeming rejection of one of the shoe company’s star athletes.
• In the span of back-to-back days, the Mavericks announced they would raise season ticket renewal prices and lost Kyrie Irving to an ACL tear. 

In the days that followed Irving’s injury, Dallas had so many players sidelined that the Mavericks were momentarily in danger of having to forfeit games because they could not dress enough players.

Those injury concerns were part of the reason Davis opted to return this season even though he was reportedly urged by some close to the situation to sit out for the remainder of what has appeared increasingly like a lost season for the Mavericks.

“I’m not the one to throw in the towel and sit down,” Davis told reporters after the game. “I felt good enough to play. We got goals in mind, even though we are undermanned, not 100% healthy.”

Cuban says he would have blocked trade

During Davis’s absence, Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont—who took control of the team’s operations when his mother-in-law Miriam Adelson bought a majority stake of the team from Mark Cuban in 2023—has given several defenses of the decision to trade Dončić. 

While some of Dumont’s comments have been empathetic to the fan response to the trade, others only elicited more backlash. He cited Shaquille O’Neal as an example of dedication to physical training, which Dončić reportedly struggled with; O’Neal has readily admitted to playing himself into shape during the regular season in his NBA career. Regardless, all reports indicate that the idea to trade Dončić originated with general manager Nico Harrison, and Dumont deferred to him.

We don’t have to wonder whether Cuban, who owned the franchise when Nowitzki led the team to its lone NBA championship in 2011, would have done the same if Harrison had come to him with a proposal to trade Dončić.

Cuban made it clear during an appearance on the “Your Mom’s House” podcast with Tom Segura and Christina Pazsitzky that he no longer had any influence on the Mavericks after it was initially reported after the 2023 sale at he would still have operational control of the team’s basketball side.

“If I had any influence—no,” Cuban said. “I’m just a fan now. … When I originally sold the team, [my control] was originally what was supposed to happen, and then over time, [Dumont] was like, ‘O.K., in Nico we trust.’ So, here we are.”

Cuban said Harrison texted him the night of the trade to let him know about it, and Cuban responded with why he disagreed with the move, but, “It wasn’t my decision to make.” 

“I don’t get it, either,” Cuban said.