By Joel Reyes

 

The Anthony Davis experiment in Dallas is over. The Mavericks sent shockwaves across the NBA on Thursday (PH time), trading the 10-time All-Star to the Atlanta Hawks in a blockbuster 8-player deal. The swap comes just 368 days after the Mavs acquired Davis in exchange for franchise player Luka Doncic in a stunning trade with the Los Angeles Lakers. 

 

Here are the winners and losers of the Davis-to-Washington trade.

 

 

The future is looking bright for the Washington Wizards. They have been busy adding key pieces before the trade deadline, acquiring Trae Young and Anthony Davis in separate deals to bolster their lineup.

 

 

Young and Davis both have injury concerns, but they are undoubtedly two of the league’s best players when fully healthy. Young averaged 24.2 points and 11.6 assists per game last season before injuries derailed his 2025-26 campaign. Davis’ last full season with the Lakers in the 2023-24 campaign saw him average 24.7 points and 12.6 rebounds.

 

 

Apart from Davis, the Wizards also received Jaden Hardy, D'Angelo Russell and Dante Exum in the deal with the Mavs, with Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, two first-round picks and three second-round picks moving in the opposite direction.

 

With Washington also possibly getting a high lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the sky is the limit for the Wizards in the coming season as they look to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2021.

 

 

“Time will tell if I’m right.” This was the quote Nico Harrison uttered following his decision to trade Dallas’ franchise player Luka Doncic to Los Angeles in exchange for Lakers big man Anthony Davis.

 

Following the Mavs’ decision to part ways with Davis, it’s safe to say Harrison will go down in history as one of the worst GMs in the NBA. Davis ended up playing just 29 out of a possible 83 games for Dallas, a disappointing return for a player who Harrison thought would lead Dallas to the championship.

 

 

Such was Harrison’s belief in Davis that he traded Doncic to get his services, a player who months earlier just led the Mavericks to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2011.

 

Harrison was eventually fired by the Mavs last November 11 after months of fan backlash. The Davis trade is a stark reminder of how badly he ruined one of the premier franchises in the NBA.

 

 

The Dallas Mavericks are now Cooper Flagg’s team after they traded Davis to the Wizards. He has been one of the few bright spots for the Mavs this season, averaging 20.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game.

 

 

With Davis now gone, Dallas has made it clear that it is transitioning to building around its newest franchise player. Flagg has already shown in his short time with Dallas that he can handle such a huge responsibility, setting numerous records with the Mavs and establishing himself as the NBA Rookie of the Year favorite.

 

 

For Dallas Mavericks fans, it’s tough to accept the reality that their beloved team is in the middle of a rebuild almost two years after their NBA Finals stint. The Doncic trade set the franchise back, with the Mavs’ haul for the Slovenian ending up as a huge disappointment for their supporters.

 

 

Max Christie, Khris Middleton (likely buyout candidate), AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, and Marvin Bagley II are the players Dallas got through the Davis trades. The Mavs also received the Thunder's 2026 first-round pick, the Lakers' 2029 first-round pick, the Warriors' 2030 first-round pick (top-20 protected), the Suns' 2026 second-round pick, the Bulls' 2027 second-round pick, and the Rockets' 2029 second-round pick from those trades.

 

For a player of Doncic’s caliber, those trade pieces that Dallas got are simply not good enough.