Anthony Davis seems hell-bent on foiling the Mavericks' attempted tank job

The Mavericks traded Anthony Davis as a “win-now” move. Why don’t they want to win now? It’s so weird!!!
Mar 9, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) looks on during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Mar 9, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) looks on during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Let’s not waste time. Feel free to skip the next three sentences and go straight to the coming tweet. The Mavericks make me sad. The Mavericks make me very, very sad. Here’s the video and the relevant quote:

Yep. Anthony Davis intends to return to the court as soon as possible, despite the fact that “there are people within the Mavericks organization that have tried to talk him out of it.” Despite what certain voices in the Mavs organization are trying to convince him of, Anthony Davis wants to play basketball and win basketball games.

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Anthony Davis is good

Yes. Good for Anthony.

But players don’t tank. Players are held out against their wishes, players are sent home, and players are subbed out by the Toronto Raptors at the end of close games. But players, in general, don’t voluntarily give up part of their prime for the sake of having their resume tarnished.

It’s actually really gross that a team that purportedly traded for Anthony Davis to have a better chance at winning in the near future is now trying to get him to make the call to throw in the towel. That feels incredibly insulting.

Despite going 2-11 in their last 13 games, the Mavericks are just a tiebreak out of the final play-in spot in the Western Conference. You brought in Anthony Davis because you thought he had a better chance to carry the team to greater success more quickly. Nico Harrison admitted himself he doesn’t expect to still have a job in a few years. Why are you wasting any opportunity? Don’t you trust the star you voluntarily gave up a perennial MVP candidate for? Don’t you want to see what he can do with the players on your team who aren’t injured?

Apparently not! It’s a hateful mess. I do not envy Anthony Davis. He’s gotten an incredible amount of blowback from the trade that he had no say in. Dude just wants to play basketball. That’s what he’s on the Mavs to do. Just let him be as happy as he can be in the horrible situation you put him in.

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