Despite the team’s poor start and his extended injury absence early this season, Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban told The Athletic Wednesday that the organization has no intention of trading Anthony Davis this season.
“We won’t. We want to try to win,” Cuban told The Athletic Wednesday.
This response from Cuban came hours after an ESPN report Wednesday which said that the Mavericks would explore the trade market for Davis as the team sits at 4-11 entering Wednesday night’s game vs. the New York Knicks.
Davis, 32, has played just 14 games for Dallas since he was stunningly traded from the Lakers on Feb. 2 in a deal which sent Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic to Los Angeles.
The 6-foot-10 forward has averaged 20.8 points and 10.2 rebounds in five games this season, but has been sidelined since sustaining a left calf strain Oct. 29 vs. Indiana.
While Davis has reportedly felt ready to return to action, Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont has expressed a desire to see medical data that shows Davis isn’t at risk of re-aggravating his injury before signing off on his return to action.
Dallas coach Jason Kidd said Monday that Davis needs seven to 10 more recovery days before returning to action.
Although Davis is a four-time first-team All-NBA and three-time first-team All-Defensive Team player, he’s struggled to consistently stay on the court of late. Davis has missed at least 26 games due to injury four of the last five seasons. He has not played more than 62 games in back-to-back seasons since 2016-18 in New Orleans.
The 10-time All-Star has averaged 24.1 points and 10.7 rebounds per game over 792 regular-season games (785 starts) spanning 14 seasons.
