Mark Cuban Shuts Down Anthony Davis Trade Rumors—What This Means for Mavericks’ Championship Dreams

With Nico Harrison’s sudden exit sparking plenty of chatter, the basketball world swiftly pegged the Dallas Mavericks as open to offers for Anthony Davis—assuming, of course, he can stay on the court. The narrative seemed clear: it’s time for Dallas to hit the reset button and build around promising rookie Cooper Flagg. But then again… maybe not. Minority owner Mark Cuban dropped a curveball, telling The Athletic’s Joe Varden there are zero plans to part ways with Davis. That stance flies in the face of whispers buzzing around the league and reports suggesting Dallas might test the trade waters. It’s a classic case of mixed signals, power struggles behind the scenes, and tough calls ahead as the Mavericks juggle health setbacks, playoff hopes, and a looming rebuild. So what’s the real play here? Buckle up—it’s a lot more complicated than it looks. LEARN MORE

In the wake of Nico Harrison’s firing, the expectation in league circles has been that the Dallas Mavericks would at least listen to trade offers for Anthony Davis, provided the All-NBA big man can get and stay healthy. Put simply, it’s time for the Mavericks to pivot and start rebuilding around Cooper Flagg.

Or not.

Despite all the speculation about Davis’ future, Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban told Joe Varden of The Athletic there is no plan to trade Davis.

“We won’t. We want to try to win,” Cuban said Wednesday in an email when asked if he and Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont would seek a deal for Davis.

This runs counter to what NBC Sports has heard from other teams, who expect Dallas to test the trade waters. It also runs counter to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon’s reporting that Dallas will explore trade possibilities. I have three quick thoughts about Cuban’s comment.

1) This is exactly what a GM/owner/front office person should say if they intend to trade a player, all in an effort to gain or maintain leverage. Take Cuban’s comment with a grain of salt.

2) How much influence does Cuban have in the Mavericks’ front office right now? Officially, he is an advisor to team governor Patrick Dumont, who is still making the ultimate calls (Dallas has two interim GMs running basketball operations — Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi — while the search for Harrison’s full-time replacement continues). Much of ESPN’s story on Wednesday focuses on Cuban’s efforts to get back in the door and regain some power in basketball operations.

3) Dallas holding onto Davis and seeing how good this team is with him, a healthy Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg was always on the table. Dallas went into this season thinking it had a playoff roster, but that roster has just not been healthy. Irving is recovering from a torn ACL and is considered likely to return at some point this season, however, there is no timeline. Flagg has played well as a rookie, but his season has been up-and-down, in part because he was asked to play out of position at the start of the season as a point forward. Still, his potential shines through.

The problem is this: Dallas controls its 2026 first-round pick in the NBA draft, but doesn’t control its picks from 2027-30. The Mavericks have started 4-11 in a deep Western Conference and it’s going to be tough sledding for a while Davis (strained calf) is out for another week or so. Also, this team clearly needs a point guard and it’s unclear when Irving might return, he is rightfully making sure he is all the way back and not rushing things. The Mavericks are already 5.5 games out of the top six in the West and sitting in 13th place. Maybe the Mavericks can climb back into the play-in, but how dangerous are they? Is it worth it to wait to see what this team might be?

Which leads to the logic that Dallas should trade Davis (and maybe Irving, although that may be an offseason move), rebuild around Flagg and other young players such as Dereck Lively II, end up in the lottery and get a running mate for Flagg.

However, that may not be the direction Dallas’ ownership chooses to go. Just ask Mark Cuban.