Anthony Davis, at least according to Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban, isn’t going anywhere.
Cuban told The Athletic’s Joe Vardon in an email on Wednesday that the team will not be trading Davis this season.
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“We won’t. We want to try to win,” Cuban said when asked if he and Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont would pursue a deal for Davis.
Cuban’s response came shortly after ESPN reported that multiple Mavericks sources said the opposite, and that Dumont and the team will actively explore the trade market for Davis.
Despite Dallas’ intentions, the start of the season has been difficult this fall. The Mavericks are currently 4–11 and sit 13th in the Western Conference. Their slow start, combined with injuries and limited future trade assets, has fueled speculation about Davis’ future — especially after the firing of former general manager and president of basketball operations Nico Harrison.
Harrison, who was officially fired on Nov. 11, is best known for orchestrating the trade that sent Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers and brought Davis to Dallas ahead of the deadline last year. That led to a massive public backlash in Dallas that just never went away.
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In Harrison’s absence, Cuban has taken on more of a leadership role, functioning in what has been reported as a “GM by committee” recently. Cuban, who bought the Mavericks in 2000, sold a majority share of the team to the Adelson family for about $3.5 billion in 2023. He now serves as an adviser to Patrick Dumont, the Sands Corporation president and COO, who is Miriam Adelson’s son-in-law. Despite Cuban’s involvement, Dumont makes the final decisions for the franchise.
Cuban, who publicly stated he was “not involved” in the trade that sent Dončić to L.A. and “didn’t agree with it,“ had reportedly been pushing for Dumont to fire Harrison before his dismissal.
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Although Davis has been with the Mavericks since February of last season, it still feels early to fully evaluate his fit with the team, given how little he has played. Last season, he appeared in just nine games after suffering an adductor strain in his Mavericks debut, which sidelined him for 18 games.
This season, the 32-year-old has played in just five games and has missed the last 10 with a left calf strain. The team has remained cautious, avoiding any risk of reinjury. Dallas announced earlier this week that he will be reevaluated in 7-10 days. When healthy, the 10-time All-Star has performed at a high level, averaging 20.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game this season.
Point guard Kyrie Irving continues to recover from a torn ACL, prompting head coach Jason Kidd to experiment with using No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, a 6-foot-9 forward, at the position. The experiment, however, was short-lived, and he has since returned to his natural position at forward. That’s yielded positive results. The former Duke star has averaged 15.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists through 15 starts.
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While the Mavericks will undoubtedly look different with both Davis and Irving healthy and on the court, speculation about Davis’ future with the organization likely won’t go away anytime soon, no matter what Cuban says.
