Zach Lowe's 9 Trade Ideas for Anthony Davis as Mavericks Consider Roster Reset

The Dallas Mavericks have stumbled out of the gate this season, and with Anthony Davis limited by injury and the front office in flux after a GM change, trade chatter is heating up. NBA analyst Zach Lowe sketched out nine possible packages that could land Davis if the Mavs decide to retool — and some are more realistic than others. Davis still has three years left on a big extension, so any move would be a high-stakes decision for Dallas.

Trade package possibilities

1) A complicated Clippers-style swap: Lowe suggested a deal that would need players like John Collins, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Brook Lopez or Derrick Jones Jr. to make the math work. That kind of trade is tricky because of hard cap/first-apron limits for some teams, which reduces the pool of clean, high-value offers.

2) Bucks option: Milwaukee could cobble together a package centered on Kyle Kuzma, Myles Turner and a first-round pick. That pairing gives Dallas immediate frontcourt help and draft capital, and is the sort of mid-size return the Bucks might consider.

3) Reuniting Davis with Luka: The idea of pairing Davis with Luka Doncic is fun to imagine, but Lowe flagged it as highly unlikely in practice — more of a headline-grabbing notion than a probable outcome.

4) Orlando’s blueprint: One scenario would see the Magic offer pieces like Jalen Suggs, maybe a wing or center upgrade and a young rotation player — but Lowe was clear that top pieces like Franz Wagner or Paolo Banchero probably wouldn’t be included in a realistic offer.

5) Knicks-style backcourt/center package: New York-type offers could include someone like Immanuel Quickley plus Jakob Poeltl, a couple of draft picks and a promising young player. Those swaps give Dallas a healthy mix of present contributors and future assets.

6) Wolves trade: Minnesota could pitch a deal built around Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley, and potentially throw in a high-upside rookie as a sweetener. That would give Dallas center depth and veteran backcourt pieces.

7) Guard/wing combinations: Lowe named candidates who might be moved in other packages — Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Norman Powell or Andrew Wiggins — as examples of players teams could use to balance a deal depending on health, contracts and fit.

8) Bulls-style package: A feasible offer could combine Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, Patrick Williams and multiple draft picks. That mix supplies frontcourt scoring, a young wing and picks to help a rebuild.

9) Pistons-type swap with salary fillers: Another possibility would center on Tobias Harris and Jaden Ivey, with role players like Isaiah Stewart or a 3-and-D wing added to make the salaries match and give Dallas useful rotation pieces.

How realistic are these ideas?

Many of Lowe’s scenarios are plausible on paper but face real-world obstacles: contract lengths, team hard caps and the Mavs’ own priorities make certain offers a long shot. Teams under cap constraints can struggle to assemble the perfect mix of players and picks without giving up core assets, so some of the more eye-catching packages would require creative structuring.

At the same time, Davis remains a valuable trade chip despite his recent injuries — he could bring back multiple picks and rotation players if Dallas decides a rebuild around rookie Cooper Flagg is the best path forward. Ultimately, any move will come down to what Dallas believes maximizes its future ceiling: keeping Davis and trying to get healthy together, or trading him for a mix of youth, salary relief and draft assets to accelerate a retooling.

Whatever direction the Mavericks choose, these scenarios show there are several ways a deal could be assembled — from straight-up player swaps to multi-asset packages — but each would require balancing present value with long-term flexibility.