The slow-motion train wreck that is the Dallas Mavericks finally threw Nico Harrison clear this week, and all of a sudden everything is in flux. Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, both still injured, could be available in trades, and Jason Kidd's position looks much less secure.
In this week's roundtable, we're sifting through the fallout with our favorite AD trade ideas, as well as guesses about who lasts longest. Plus Rookie of the Year surprises, a historic MVP race and more.
1. The last time four players each received more than one first-place vote for MVP was 2011-12. Do we get there this season?
Eamon Cassels: I'd like to think so, given how many insane individual seasons we are having. Between Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, and even Cade Cunningham, we have plenty of MVP-worthy candidates early on in the season. The unfortunate truth is that injuries will naturally dwindle the field, especially with the 65-plus games played requirement. Additionally, groupthink tends to win out. Notably, we haven't seen an MVP runner-up earn 30 or more votes since 2006-07. As much as I'd love to see these trends change, I'm not counting on it.
Rucker Haringey: Luka Dončić, Nikola Jokić, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander seem destined to garner MVP votes if all make the 65-game criteria. Cynical fans might be inclined to bet on one of that trio to miss a significant chunk of the season, but where’s the fun in that? That’s why this will be the first season in over a decade that sees such segmentation in the MVP voting. The discourse will be good for the NBA and the media across the nation.
Bryan Toporek: If the vote were held today, it'd be a virtual lock. But as Eamon and Rucker noted, the 65-game requirement could whittle out at least one or two deserving candidates. Team record also typically comes into play, especially in close MVP races. All of their teams are off to fairly hot starts, but if any of them fall back toward the middle of the pack, that might push them out of legitimate MVP contention. With that said, I'd love to see an up-in-the-air MVP race like the one we had in 2016-17, even though that might spell the end for fellow FanSider Matt Moore.
Christopher Kline: Jokić, Giannis, Shai, Luka, Wemby. It’s a chaotic field, and if even four of five finish with 65-plus games, this certainly feels like a realistic outcome. That said, there’s an equally strong chance, as others have mentioned, that injuries level the playing field — or that one superstar expands his lead as the season progresses. There’s just so much basketball left to play. Wemby earned my preseason vote, and I’ll stand by that, but he’s the least established and thus the least solid bet of the five. Giannis is putting up comical numbers, but he has done that for years now with hardly a nod of recognition from the MVP voters. I’d bet that, eventually, the field condenses by the end of the campaign. But hopefully I’m wrong; I like chaos as much as the next guy.
Brennan Sims: Absolutely. There's a clear path to make cases for all the dominant guys this year. Five players may get a first, actually. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to pour in points and win games. Nikola Jokić is still the best in the world and could lead the league in assists and rebounds. Giannis Antetokounmpo could average 30, shooting 65 percent from the field. Victor Wembanyama isn't fair, and Luka Dončić still leads the league in scoring. This will be a race for the ages.
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2. Forget about plausibility and give me the Anthony Davis trade destination that makes you think about death and feel sad and stuff the least.
Eamon Cassels: AD deserves to play on another competitive team, and he deserves to be celebrated for his two-way greatness. The Golden State Warriors are hoping to give Steph Curry one last chance at a championship, but they lack frontcourt size. Davis is the perfect fit, and it would be poetic if he could help the Warriors make one last run.
Rucker Haringey: The math is tricky to make this work, but the idea of sending Anthony Davis to the Toronto Raptors is at least somewhat intriguing. He could fit perfectly into their switching defensive scheme and might give their half-court offense a useful outlet in the frontcourt. It’s not a move the Raptors should make but neutral fans could find it entertaining.
Bryan Toporek: This would make zero sense from the Spurs' perspective unless they could get him for pennies on the dollar, but man, how fun would Davis and Victor Wembanyama be together? Davis could live out his dream of playing the 4 alongside the league's most feared shot-blocker. San Antonio would turn the paint into a complete no-fly zone.
Christopher Kline: The least? There isn’t a good answer here, but I do think the NBA community is slightly underrating how good Anthony Davis still is. Obviously, he needs to stay on the floor for it to matter, but he can absolutely elevate the right contender. My co-host on The Sixer Sense Podcast pitched me the vague outline of a Rudy Gobert for Anthony Davis swap in Minnesota. That at least makes for an interesting, albeit risky swing.
Brennan Sims: Anthony Davis doesn't excite me the way he used to. He's still one of the best and most versatile defenders in the league, but he doesn't have that same wiggle he had in New Orleans. We haven't seen the 2020 Lakers version of him much, either. He's more of a traditional rim-running big, and that'll work if he's sent home to Chicago. A potential Josh Giddey and Anthony Davis partnership with Matas Buzelis, complementing them on the wing, isn't boring. AD brings the necessary rim protection Chicago lacks today.
3. Who lasts longest in Dallas — Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving or Jason Kidd?
Eamon Cassels: Davis seems to be a trade candidate, who knows if it happens, but it's at least possible. Kyrie has a player option heading into the 2027-28 season. I don't think he'll be traded, but who knows if he wants to stick around two years from now. That leaves us with Kidd, who is under contract until the 2028-29 season. The Mavericks should have no reason to fire Kidd; he's a good coach and had no involvement in the Luka trade. I don't know the future, but I see them trying to keep Kidd around during this new era.
Rucker Haringey: It’s rather frightening that Kyrie Irving seems like the odds-on favorite here. His injury should prevent him from being traded this year. Dallas’ changing of the guard in their front office should mean Anthony Davis gets traded well before the dynamic point guard.
Jason Kidd’s status is a bit more challenging to figure. He doesn’t seem like a coach prepared to preside over a rebuild, but he may not have a lot of suitors around the league if he goes on the open market. The best guess on his tenure with the Mavericks is that he makes it through the end of the year before parting ways with the franchise in the offseason.
Bryan Toporek: Seeing as the Mavericks just signed Kidd to a multi-year extension in mid-October, he's the smart-money pick. (Granted, it's unclear how long he's actually under contract, as the Mavs didn't realize the terms of the deal.) Either way, given the ages of Davis (32) and Irving (33), one would think Dallas will pivot in the next year or two into fully building around Cooper Flagg. Flipping Davis and Irving for younger players and/or draft picks will be the quickest way to expedite that process.
Christopher Kline: Part of me honestly thinks old man Kyrie Irving ages gracefully as Cooper Flagg’s running mate and finishes his career on good terms in Dallas. Irving has basically performed a PR miracle since joining the Mavericks, becoming likable again. I don’t think Kyrie wants to test the vibes elsewhere. AD probably doesn’t make it past the trade deadline, and there are few darker harbingers for a struggling head coach than a new GM.
Brenann Sims: It seems like Jason Kidd's extension answers that for us. Now, we've seen crazier things happen, but signing an extension doesn't guarantee you'll finish the remainder of that contract. But if Nico Harrison was able to sell "defense wins championships" to ownership, maybe Kidd can sing the same tune because that man can coach some defense. Besides, Kidd doesn't have the trade value Davis and Kyrie Irving have. They could be gone before Valentine's Day.
4. What terrible All-Star Game tweaks will the NBA try next season after this year’s USA vs. the World format inevitably flops?
Eamon Cassels: Here me out, Adam Silver, a single elimination 3v3 tournament with eight teams. In reality, this likely wouldn't fix the All-Star game. However, I'd be intrigued to see elite players in a 3v3 setting, and the NBA seems willing to try anything, so this could be the next step. Based on how goofy the league has been in the recent past, though, this would probably be a round-robin tournament where Chuck and Shaq pick the teams.
Rucker Haringey: Some desperate attempt to pit G League stars against the NBA All-Star team seems like something that might excite Adam Silver and the higher-ups in New York. That would be a disastrous decision on a number of levels. The NBA stars would find the competition beneath them. The G League standouts would play at maximum effort to earn positive attention from NBA scouts. One massive injury to an MVP candidate trying to take things easy would be enough to kill All-Star Weekend altogether.
Bryan Toporek: We've already seen players get excited about the NBA Cup because each player on the winning team gets roughly $530,000 this year. That's chump change to most All-Stars, but the entirety of All-Star Weekend is a giant brand activation event at this point. The NBA should make each brand pony up a few million and put $5 million on the line for each player on the winning team, with all of the money going to a charity of their choosing. "NBA All-Star Weekend, Sponsored by Nvidia" has a nice ring to it, don't you think?
Christopher Kline: Just do East and West, for the love of god. Not a single change has worked. It’s unclear what we are even doing at this point. I guess you can’t say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” about an All-Star Game that was kind of broken, but breaking it more is not the answer you think it is, Mr. Silver.
Brennan Sims: As a collective, I wish we could just accept the All-Star game for what it is. No matter how many tweaks and wrinkles are added to the game, if the players don't want to play hard, it'll never work. Maybe the patriotism of this year's addition intensifies the game, but Jokić won't be representing Serbia, and Luka won't be playing for Slovenia. It probably won't fire up the competitive juices the league thinks it might. Let's just accept that this is a glorified pick-up game and be done with the tweaks. East vs West, just leave it alone.
5. The NBA Rookie of the Year race is WIDE open at this point. Who are you most surprised to see in the mix?
Eamon Cassels: It's not Cedric Coward, whom I picked to challenge Cooper Flagg for ROY before the season. "Humble" brag aside, I'll go with Ryan Kalkbrenner. The Charlotte Hornets' big man likely won't win the award, but first-team All-Rookie team seems in play. I liked Kalkbrenner as a prospect, and the Hornets offered him plenty of opportunities. However, like every GM in the first-round, I overthought it with Kalkbrenner, thinking his ceiling was more of a second-team All-Rookie guy.
Rucker Haringey: I’ll put a different Hornets’ rookie on my Bingo card. Kon Knueppel was a high lottery pick, but he looked more like a good pro than a great one coming out of college. That still may be his ultimate fate in the NBA, but his initial play has been better than expected.
His 3-point prowess will probably always be his most important skill at the pro level, but he’s showcased a better feel for the game than most scouts expected. His stock in the ROY voting might be higher if he played for a team with anything resembling a serious roster. Still, he’s a good building block for Charlotte, no matter how they choose to pivot next offseason.
Bryan Toporek: I clearly do not know ball like Eamon does, because I did not see this coming from Cedric Coward. The Desmond Bane trade opened a massive hole in the Grizzlies' rotation, and Coward has stepped right into it. With VJ Edgecombe slumping after a hot start, Coward might become one of the top threats to steal the award from Flagg, especially considering how checked-out Ja Morant appears to be these days.
Christopher Kline: I came around on Cedric Coward late in the pre-draft process but yeah, I did not anticipate such an immediate, star-making turn in Memphis. Granted, Memphis is also much worse than expected, which opens the door for Coward to keep elevating his profile more and more as the season progresses. I’m a bit surprised by just how strong VJ Edgecombe started, but yeah, the answer here is Coward. But also, to be clear, Cooper Flagg is definitely still the favorite.
Brennan Sims: I'm surprised the Charlotte Hornets got the draft correct. They hit so big that they have two players in the ROY race. Kon Knueppel is the favorite in my eyes. His blend of shot-making and quick decision-making gives him a stable baseline. Ryan Kalkbrenner is inane and has waltzed into the league as one of the best finishers. A rookie shooting 47/54 at the rim is ridiculous. Side note, Derik Queen is just getting started. He'll firmly be in the race before this month is up.