The Dallas Mavericks have traded Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards in an eight-player deal that also sends Australia’s Dante Exum to the US capital — and puts new light on the Mavs’ part in the Luka Doncic trade.

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Davis was the primary piece Dallas gained from the Lakers when Doncic made a stunning switch to LA, but has been beset by all-too-familiar injury problems and is now gone from the organisation.

ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported the trade on X: “The Dallas Mavericks are trading 10-time NBA All-Star Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy, D’Angelo Russell and Dante Exum to the Washington Wizards for Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, 2 first-round picks and 3 second-rounders, sources tell ESPN.

“Dallas is receiving a 2026 Thunder first-round pick and a 2030 protected Warriors first-round pick in this deal from the Wizards along with second rounders in 2026 (Phoenix), 2027 (Chicago) and 2029 (Houston).”

The Mavericks are acquiring future assets to build a stronger line-up around No.1 draft pick Cooper Flagg. The Wizards are adding Davis alongside Trae Young, recently acquired from Atlanta, plus a developing core that includes Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson and Bilal Coulibaly.

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Anthony Davis has been traded by the Dallas Mavericks to the Washington Wizards.Source: AFP

One one hand, Davis’ quick exit from Dallas is damning, having given up a superstar player in Doncic.

On the other hand, the Mavericks now have a hefty stockpile of assets that have come via a deadline deal Charania labelled a “stunner”.

BULLS CONTINUES TO MAKE MOVES

Josh Giddey’s Chicago Bulls have continued to be active at the trade deadline, dealing guard Coby White to the Charlotte Hornets.

According to Charania, the Bulls also gave up Mike Conley, who they just acquired, for Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng and three second-round picks.

White moves to the red-hot Hornets as they look to make a playoff push.

It comes after the Bulls picked up Dario Saric’s contract on Wednesday in a three-team trade with the Kings and Cavaliers which saw them acquire two second-round picks.

They also acquired Piston Jaden Ivey to go with Conley as part of a three-team trade deal and later scored shooter Anfernee Simons in a trade with Boston that saw veteran big man Nikola Vucevic moved.

MORE DEALS AS EXILED STAR TRADED

Clippers veteran Chris Paul has been traded in a three-team deal, according to Charania.

In the deal, Paul was moved to the Toronto Raptors with Ochai Agbaji, a 2032 Raptors second-round pick and cash sent to the Brooklyn Nets.

However the 40-year-old is set to be waived by the Raptors as part of a salary dump.

“The Raptors will not require Chris Paul to report to the team and could still discuss trades involving him over the next day,” Charania reported.

“Toronto is now out of the tax. Brooklyn picks up an asset and cash to cover Agbaji’s salary. The Clippers clear a roster spot and save $7 million in tax.”

GIANNIS’ EMOTIONAL MILWAUKEE DECLARATION

With speculation rife that Giannis Antetokounmpo wants to be traded from the Bucks, the megastar has broken his silence with an emotional declaration that he loves Milwaukee and wants to stay — but only if he’s winning.

“I want to be here, but I want to be here to win, not fighting for my life to make the playoffs,” Antetokounmpo told The Athletic.

“I’m not used to inconsistent basketball. I’ve played so many years of consistent basketball, I am not used to it anymore. During the game, I don’t know if you can see my face, (but) I get frustrated during the game, while the game is going on.

“I know there’s gonna be times you’re gonna lose; you’re not gonna win all the games. … But at the end of the day, it’s like how we carry ourselves. I see other teams, how they are and how they play, how connected the chemistry they have and how people are doing the right thing and they’re riding for one another. I just want that. I want that for my team.”

A huge numbers of teams are jostling for a shot at trading for Giannis, yet the Bucks champion may yet stay put.

“Brother, if you ask me deep down what I want today, I want to be a Milwaukee Buck for the rest of my career,” Antetokounmpo said. “I want to win here, another championship. And if you can tell me that’s possible, let’s just hang up the phone.

“You know basketball. You see basketball. You understand basketball. You’ve been around greatness. You’ve been around a championship team. You’ve been around a good culture. You’ve been around when the popcorn was popping. You were around; you saw it. If you tell me that that’s possible, we can hang up the phone and keep on moving with our day.”

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