The Dallas Mavericks were part of a massive NBA trade before the deadline, sending big man Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards amid injury concerns.
The deal arrived on Wednesday, with the Mavs sending Davis along with guards Jaden Hardy, D’Angelo Russell, and Dante Exum to the Wizards.Â
In exchange, Dallas received former All-Star forward Khris Middleton, Marvin Bagley III, and guards AJ Johnson and Malaki Branham. Along with that, the Mavericks received first-round picks for 2026 and 2030, and second-round picks for 2026, 2027, and 2029.
Some fans may have been happy to see the injury-prone Davis go. However, Pro Basketball Hall of Famer and Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki indicated he was “disappointed” by his former team trading Davis when he shared his reaction during Amazon Prime’s NBA pre-game show.
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According to Nowitzki, he believes Mavs fans are “happy” with the deal because they “don’t want to be reminded of what happened in the Luka trade.”
“Looking at this deal at first glance, there’s not a lot that came back for picks or player wise, so this is all about financial flexibility for the future,” he said, adding, “They got rid of some contracts that were not favorable for the franchise.”
“I’m a little disappointed, obviously. I think when AD played off of Cooper [Flagg], they played really, really well. I think that was a solid combo, but we’ll never know,” Nowitzki said on the “NBA on Prime Pregame.”
Nowtizki explained that this latest deal seemed to be an indication of the team’s plans to build their future roster around Cooper Flagg. The rookie is already turning heads in his first season, as he continues to put up impressive stats and has many see early signs of his potential to become a huge superstar in the league.
Mavs fans have seen it before with the emergence of a guy by the name of Luka Doncic, who, like Nowitzki, led the Mavs to the NBA Finals. However, Luka’s Mavs didn’t win the championship, and he was dealt in a surprising trade last season to the Los Angeles Lakers, joining another superstar, LeBron James.
The Lakers aren’t necessarily looking like top contenders for the championship, but one believes that even when LeBron retires or leaves, they’ll have their franchise star in Luka. The Mavs seem to feel the same way about Flagg, and still have former All-Star and NBA champion Kyrie Irving waiting to play in the same lineup as their new young star.
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