NBA Trade Rumors: Mavericks Buying into Nico Harrison's "Fever Dream" After Rejuvenated Belief in Anthony Davis

Eyes are on Anthony Davis’ future with the Dallas Mavericks, who, despite a turbulent season, sit only half a game out of the play-in at 9-16. They have taken four of their last five games and seem to be trending upward, even with organizational instability.

The Luka Doncic-for-Davis trade reshaped the franchise, but reports earlier this season suggested they might move Davis to define their direction, whether by adding better-fitting championship pieces or gathering young talent and picks for a rebuild.

With the Mavericks’ recent improvement, NBA insider Chris Mannix said the team appears willing to stay patient and evaluate how Davis performs, hoping he can help secure more wins and that Kyrie Irving can return this season to fulfill former general manager Nico Harrison’s vision.

“They don’t have a point guard that can create offense for them,” Mannix said Wednesday on “The Ryen Russillo Show.” “But they’re going to get one back at some point during this season. And they believe that when they get him back -- him being Kyrie -- and they get some of these other guys back into the mix, this fever dream that Nico Harrison had about a defensive-minded team that could grind out wins could still come to fruition.”

Davis has appeared in five games since coming back from injury and is averaging 18.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists. While those numbers fall short of his peak production, Mannix said the Mavericks are not rushing to trade him despite signals that he is not part of their long-term plans.

“He’s not a long-term guy in Dallas,” Mannix said. “They’re going to go into a rebuild at some point. So they have looked at the market for Anthony Davis, and teams that I’ve talked to out there are watching how Davis responds over the next few weeks.

“He doesn’t have any real trade value right now until he plays like 10-15 games coming off this calf injury. But if he does, and if he looks like the Anthony Davis of yesteryear, I think there will be a robust trade market out there for him.”

Can an Anthony Davis trade push the Mavericks toward a high lottery pick?

Chris Mannix also said the Dallas Mavericks are cautious about Anthony Davis’ future because they believe any return package might not help them slide into more favorable lottery odds.

“They look at an AD trade and think: wherever you trade AD, … what you’re going to get back and what you still have is not enough to do this kind of Washington Wizards-like free fall. Like, you’re just not going to sink like a stone to the bottom of the Western Conference standings

“Not with Cooper Flagg and a bunch of other competitive guys around them. So they’re not sure they see the upside in blowing this thing up, at least not during the course of the season.”

Mannix noted that if the Mavericks are able to approach a .500 record, gradually work their way toward that mark and see Kyrie Irving’s return in January or prior to the All-Star break, the organization may be inclined to maintain the current roster and evaluate its potential for the remainder of the season.

Conversely, he stated that should the team remain well below .500 while Anthony Davis continues to play, discussions regarding the possibility of moving Davis are likely to intensify.