It’s no secret that the Dallas Mavericks could be trading Anthony Davis in the near future. Davis even reportedly expects to be traded, per DallasHoopsJournal, as both sides work to find a landing spot for him. It’s clear that he just doesn’t quite fit the makeup of the roster when everyone’s healthy, because he’s set on playing power forward, and the Mavs have two talented centers already in Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford.
But the difficult part is finding a trade that makes sense. Teams aren’t going to be lining up to pay Anthony Davis more than $60 million in two years when he’s 34 years old, not with his injury history.
However, one team that has been connected to Davis since Nico Harrison was fired is the Chicago Bulls. Davis was born and raised in Chicago and has said in the past that he could see himself wearing a Bulls jersey one day. And the Bulls apparently have held internal conversations about potentially trading for Davis, per ESPN’s Jamal Collier.
“The Bulls have had internal discussions about how to proceed, including conversations about Dallas Mavericks star Anthony Davis, sources told ESPN, whom they believe could help the team’s porous rim protection and defensive interior,” Collier wrote.
“Davis is from Chicago, and the Bulls have three players on the roster (Ayo Dosunmu, Jevon Carter, and [Matas] Buzelis) who grew up in the area, which is not a coincidence.
“However, team sources said the Bulls will not sacrifice any of their young core to execute such a deal until the team is closer to contention.”
Nov 28, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) warms up prior to the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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What Would An Anthony Davis Trade Look Like With the Bulls?
Jamal Collier made it clear that they don’t want to sacrifice any key young pieces, but they still need to match Davis’ $54 million dollar salary this year. So what would a potential trade look like with the Chicago Bulls for Davis?
Ideally, the Mavs would send out more players than they get back so they can convert Ryan Nembhard to a standard contract, but that would be hard to pull off. The Mavericks will also want draft capital back since they don’t own their first-round picks from 2027 to 2030.
A potential trade could look something like this: Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy, Caleb Martin, and D’Angelo Russell for Nikola Vucevic, Patrick Williams, Kevin Huerter, and Isaac Okoro, a 2027 first-round pick, and a 2029 first-round pick. Ideally, the Mavericks can get at least two first-round picks and some expiring contracts back for Davis, they have to take that.
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