The Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline is approaching, and teams are assessing every day how they can get better in the next three weeks. It’s unclear if we’ll get massive fireworks like we did last season when the Mavericks traded Luka Dončić, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be some intriguing transactions. The Mavericks could once again make a major move at the deadline.
Trae Young has been the biggest name moved so far, ending his time with the Atlanta Hawks and joining the Washington Wizards in a long-speculated trade. But he certainly won’t be the only domino to fall.
So let’s take a look at all the latest intel in the rumor mill and buzz out there on Wednesday.
Rich Paul pushing for Mavs to trade AD
There’s been a ton of news surrounding Anthony Davis over the last week that it’s causing whiplash just to keep up. First, Davis injured his hand in Dallas’ loss to the Utah Jazz last week. He was then seen in a sling with his hand heavily wrapped in the Mavericks road game against the Bulls. He’s been sidelined since, and while it was initially thought that he would need surgery to repair what was reported has “ligament damage,” a second opinion determined that wasn’t necessary. The Mavericks officially announced that Davis is expected to “heal from the injury” in six weeks. That’s interesting wording, given Dallas doesn’t explicitly say in the release what the injury is. Does that mean he’ll be ready to suit up by late February or early March? Or will he simply just be cleared by then to resume basketball activities at that time? It’s all a bit unclear, but regardless, Davis will be out for at least a month-and-a-half, thinning his trade market.
However, that doesn’t mean the Mavericks won’t try to move him. As Marc Stein reported Wednesday, Dallas is in active trade talks regarding Davis, but is maintaining that they don’t plan on selling low on the All-NBA forward before the trade deadline. So there’s a very real chance that Davis could be on the Mavericks roster by season end. That’s not exactly the route Davis’ agent, Rich Paul, wants to take, as Stein says Paul has been trying to push Dallas to move Davis before the deadline. Paul feels that Davis’ best shot at getting a contract extension next summer would be on a different team, but if Dallas doesn’t see a deal it likes by Feb. 5, then Davis will have to go into the summer still on this roster.
This may be a situation where Davis remains with the Mavericks until the summer and sees if a better deal materializes, especially if he’s able to return at some point this season and try to rebuild at least a fraction of his trade value. But unless Dallas sees a package it deems worthy of in the next three weeks, this partnership looks like it will extend into the summer, and maybe even next season.
Ja Morant comments on trade rumors
The Grizzlies are currently in Berlin to play the Orlando Magic as part of the league’s Global Games series. While Memphis is a world away currently, that hasn’t stopped the trade rumors from following the team.
When Ja Morant was asked about the trade rumors circulating him at a press conference in Berlin, Memphis’ franchise star shrugged them off.
“Live with it,” Morant said succinctly, when asked about his reaction to a report saying that Memphis is open to listening to trade offers on him. When the reporter followed up asking if he thinks he’ll remain with the Grizzlies past the trade deadline, Morant said, “I’m the only one you asked that question to?” The reporter said he’s talked to other people in the organization about it, and when Morant asked, “What did they say?,” before the reporter could fully respond Morant said, “Next question.”
It’s clear Morant doesn’t want to deal with these questions right now, but that won’t stop them from being asked between now and the trade deadline. And although Memphis is open to trade discussions on their star guard, that hasn’t equated to much of a market for him right now. We’ll see if that changes as we get closer to the trade deadline, but as of right now there hasn’t been any tangible buzz on teams who want to trade for the 26-year-old guard.
