Wizards-Mavericks trade grades: Who won the Anthony Davis deal?
Wizards-Mavericks trade grades: Who won the Anthony Davis deal?
Morten Stig Jensen Wed, February 4, 2026 at 7:47 PM UTC
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In a stunning turn of events, the Dallas Mavericks have not only succeeded in trading Anthony Davis — to the Washington Wizards, nonetheless — but they even managed to get assets in return.
The deal is as follows:
Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy, D'Angelo Russell and Dante Exum to the Washington Wizards for Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, two first-round picks and three second-rounders.
The quality of the picks aren't great (a 2026 first from Oklahoma City Thunder, and a 2030 protected selection via Golden State), but the fact the Mavericks didn't end up relinquishing picks in order to get out of Davis' contract is a win on its own.
Let's get into some the grades immediately.
Dallas Mavericks: A
There's no other way around this: The Mavs lost the Luka Dončić trade by the size of Mt. Everest, but at least they won this one.
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The aging Davis, who can't seem to stay healthy and who remains one of the most expensive deals in the NBA, simply shouldn't have had any positive trade value, and yet, here we are.
The Mavericks also found a new home for D'Angelo Russell, a player who never fit and who has declined mightily in recent years.
They now gain a ton of salary flexibility to build around Cooper Flagg, which is what the plan should have been since he was drafted first overall last summer.
Washington Wizards: D
Oooooof, guys.
While the Wizards didn't give up juicy firsts, they did relinquish draft equity, which seems odd given that they took on a lot of money for a soon-to-be 33-year-old who is declining rapidly and constantly in and out of the lineup.
Look, I get the vision. Trae Young and Anthony Davis as the main pillars, with a bunch of young players as the supporting cast. That's fine if both of them are healthy, but since that's not something you can bank on, the risk is considerable here.
Furthermore, Davis and Alexandre Sarr have each voiced displeasure about playing center, preferring to play power forward. So, uh, you know, good luck with that.
Source: “AOL Sports”
