The Washington Wizards have made a huge deal ahead of Thursday’s NBA Trade Deadline, acquiring Anthony Davis from Dallas in a swap of eight players and five picks.
In the deal, Washington receives 10-time NBA All-Star Davis and guards Dante Exum, Jaden Hardy, and D’Angelo Russell, and will send to the Mavericks Khris Middleton, Marvin Bagley III, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, two first-round picks, and three second-round picks.
Per Shams Charania, the picks are the Thunder’s 2026 first-rounder, a Top 20-protected 2030 Warriors first-rounder, and second rounders in 2026 (via Phoenix), 2027 (via Chicago), and 2029 (via Houston).
Davis has played just 20 games for Dallas this season, as he has been out for nearly a month with ligament damage in his left hand. However, the Mavs have been actively shopping Davis since firing GM Nico Harrison, who made the trade for Davis, back in November, and now have a taker in the rebuilding Wiz – one of the few teams in the NBA with the cap space to take on his $58.5 million salary for 2026-27 and $62.8 million player option for 2027-28.
The former No. 1 overall pick was still a force when he was in the court in Dallas, as he has averaged 20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game in those 20 contests, and he was an All-Star last year off a first half in LA where he put up 25.7-11.9-3.4-2.1 in 42 games.
Russell, a former No. 2 overall pick, signed with Dallas last summer, and has averaged 10.2 points and 4.0 assists in 26 games mostly off the bench for the Mavs. He has a player option for just under $6 million next season.
Hardy, a 2022 second-round pick, re-upped with the Mavs last summer on a two-year, $12 million deal that includes a $6 million club option for 2027-28. He has played 34 games with four starts this year, averaging 6.9 points in 12.6 minutes per game.
Exum, a former No. 5 overall pick of the Jazz, is in the final year of his deal but has not played (and will not play) this season due to a knee injury.
Middleton, Branham, and Bagley are all expiring deals as well, giving the Mavs some payroll flexibility beyond this season – which is sorely needed, as this Davis deal finally dropped them below the luxury tax apron for this season.
Middleton, the former Bucks All-Star and NBA Champion, started all 34 games he played for the Wiz this season, averaging 10.3 points, 3.9 boards, and 3.3 assists in 24.3 MPG. Bagley, the No. 2 pick in 2018, averaged 10.1 points and 5.7 boards in 19.2 minutes over 38 games, making eight starts.
Branham averaged 9.8 minutes in 28 games off the bench, scoring 4.6 points per game, while Johnson – a first-round pick in 2024 – averaged 2.8 points per game in 8.6 minutes over 25 games as a reserve. He is the only potential long-term asset for Dallas, as he has a $3.24 million guaranteed salary next season, and then a club option for $5.5 million in 2027-28 – which the Mavs must choose to exercise before October 31 – before becoming a restricted free agent.
The Mavericks entered Wednesday 19-31 and 12th in the West, 3.5 games back of a play-in tournament spot, while Washington sat at 13-36, 14th in the East and among the worst five records in the NBA.