Atlanta is viewed as a “real-deal suitor” for Mavericks big man Anthony Davis, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack post. Chris Haynes reported on Saturday morning that the Hawks remain “very intrigued” by the possibility of acquiring Davis, whom the team has been linked to for multiple weeks.
However, there are several complicating factors that could prevent a potential trade from coming together.
While Haynes reported that Trae Young would not be included in an outgoing package for Davis, Stein suggests the four-time All-Star point guard might have to be sent elsewhere to make a deal work for financial reasons. The Hawks are not known for being big spenders, Stein observes, and having Young ($48.97MM player option) and Davis ($58.46MM) under contract at the same time in 2026/27 would make the roster prohibitively expensive.
Like many other reporters, Stein hears Davis is expected to seek a lucrative long-term extension once he becomes eligible to sign one in August, whether he stays with Dallas or is moved to another team.
According to Stein, there’s a “growing belief” around the NBA that the Hawks are open to moving Young, but whether they’d actually be able to find a suitable deal for him remains to be seen. As Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported a couple weeks ago, rival executives think Young may end up having to exercise that player option, which doesn’t exactly point to a robust free agent or trade market.
Stein isn’t the only reporter to hear Atlanta could be looking to trade Young. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said something similar on Monday’s Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to Doric Sam of Bleacher Report).
“The Hawks certainly are indicating that they’re looking for the exit ramp with Trae Young,” MacMahon said. “They did not make any attempt to get him signed to an extension. When that’s the case with your face of the franchise, that’s a pretty clear message that the end could be near.”
MacMahon pointed to Ja Morant (Grizzlies) and LaMelo Ball (Hornets) as two other maximum-salaried point guards who are in similar situations as the Hawks and Young.
“If there is an attempt to trade these guys, it’s not going to be easy,” MacMahon said. “There’s not going to be some wide array of teams raising their hand and trying to get in on the bidding, and I’m not sure if you’re even gonna be able to make a trade that’s going to bring value in return.”
The Mavericks also already have Kyrie Irving in the backcourt, and while he’s still recovering from a torn ACL, it would make zero sense to pair him with a small, ball-dominant, defense-deficient guard like Young.
As for who the Hawks could send out for Davis, Stein says the team appears to be willing to part with 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher under the right circumstances, and points to the expiring contracts of Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kennard as salary-matching pieces. But it’s unclear if Atlanta would be willing to offer draft compensation — or if Dallas would be interested in that proposal.
According to Stein, Hawks forward Jalen Johnson and the 2026 first-round pick Atlanta controls (the more favorable of the Pelicans’ and Bucks’ selections) are viewed as off-limits in any trade talks.
It’s also unclear how willing the Mavericks are to make an in-season deal involving Davis, as Stein hears governor Patrick Dumont is among a group of key executives who would like to see Irving, Davis and Cooper Flagg play together before making another major trade. Waiting until the offseason could be the prudent choice, depending on the types of offers the Mavs receive, Stein writes.
Haynes reported that the Warriors are considering making a run at Davis. According to Stein, while Golden State has a “longstanding fondness” for the 10-time All-Star, the team has reservations about his contract and lengthy injury history and doesn’t appear to be actively pursuing him.
As Stein notes, Jimmy Butler or Draymond Green would have to be included in a possible Davis deal for matching purposes, which is one reason why a trade looks unlikely at this time.
Stein continues to hear the Warriors are looking for the “best possible” deal centered around Jonathan Kuminga‘s $22.5MM contract once the fifth-year forward becomes trade-eligible on January 15.
The Hawks have gone 0-6 since Young returned to action earlier this month (he appeared in five of those games). He will miss Monday’s contest at Oklahoma City due to a right quad contusion, tweets Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks. Johnson is also out with an illness.
The warriors never made an offer or call about AD. ESPN jump the gun on any offer or warriors trading for AD. The warriors talking about many big men to go after but AD contract is viewed as impossible under the cap for them.
So now after telling me for yrs. They don’t need a big. You now change cause your team is finally looking for one. OK
Never said they don’t need a big. I been saying they need a big for a long time. Why do you always make up things. You are the person that keep flagging my comments too.
For me it’s only logical for Hawks to pursue AD if they’re bringing GA along, otherwise it’s better to let Young contract to expire.
Deal that works salary wise:
Hawks get AD, GA
Mavs get Porz, Risasher
Bucks get Young, Kennard
Ofc Hawks will be handing picks left and right.
The Mavericks would need around 10 first round picks to make this at least considerable
Dude never comment on here again. What a ridiculous trade to suggest
Who is GA ?
I believe it is Giannis. So yeah, a pretty outrageous trade suggestion.
Why stop at a three team, let’s go 4 teamer. Add in the spurs with wemby going to Atlanta and Okungwu going to SA. Maybe add a 5th, take Brunson from the Knicks and give them NAW.
Don’t see many teams wanting Trae or can even fit him in.
Kings have a lot of the big and bad contracts but near expiring. They want another PG despite letting 2 Franchise pgs go. Trae is a step down compared to those two.
Cavs swap him for Garland is not a good idea Trae and Mitchell a worse fit.
Celtics using Simon expiring and Hauser maybe but doubtful.
Celts have White with Brown in the backcourt. Doubt they’d want a non defensive player on their team when they’ve centered around D during their run.
The Celtics aren’t acquiring anything big this year, with Tatum out they’re just rolling with what they have. If anything, they’ll further reduce payroll if they can
No. Brad is waiting on Tatum. This is why they did not request the disabled player exception.
Tatum can go, Brad will add players and make a run at the East.
This is pretty obvious.
Celtics dont want a guard who cannot guard anyone.
Celtics are positioning themselves to buy a big if Tatum is able to go in 2026. East is WIDE open and Celtics are #3 without Tatum. Brad is cooking.
This is a joke right? Trae Young has been on the market for 2 years with no takers. He will most likely opt into his contract for next year. Also nobody is trading any assets for AD and then extending him after his last two injury plagued seasons. Wait a minute. my bad, Sacramento is on the phone and they want to build around both Trae and AD!
This makes me so sad because if I woke up tomorrow and saw this deal had happened, I would completely believe it.
Hawks should hang tight for now. Will have the pels first round pick this off season to play with. Far better package for Giannis than most mentioned in the media. Or just nail that pick and keep getting better internally.
It’s a difficult position for both sides really
On the Mavs front, sure you’d love to see Kyrie Cooper and AD together. Kyrie as a creator and scoring option, AD with his elite defence and still all star level offence and then young Cooper who’s been really solid that on paper looks great. You’ve got experience, youth, defence, spacing and it should work but injuries and timelines mess things up. Kyrie is likely out for the year, AD struggles to stay fit and that’s a problem.
Personally I think you have to give up that dream that all three will be fit, it’ll work and they could win you a championship. Just injuries and age won’t allow it unfortunately.
Which means you have to rebuild around Cooper and in which case Risacher is a good return but the expiring contracts don’t do a hell do a lot and there no extra compensation in draft picks either.
As for the Hawks, AD definitely makes your chances of winning now a lot stronger. When fit he’s still borderline top 10 in the league cause he can give you 35-15-5 with some of the best defence in the league. They might be able to gamble on his health more so because they have a younger roster and can probably manage to have him out 20-30 games a season and still make the playoffs.
However it would be expensive especially after that extension and you’d be going all in with him and Trae Young who you already have question marks on.
The reality is who is offering the Mavs a better package for AD? Win now or rebuild Risacher and KP plus an expiring Kennard is a good return for a very injured old and soon expensive AD. But for the Hawks who else is there that fits what you need and makes you better at that price too, probably no one. Both teams kinda need to make this deal really.
The Hawks should have traded Trae Young to the Pelicans instead of DeJounte Murray, both teams would be better today
That wasn’t going to happen, given the vast difference in contract.
Jalen Johnson, Zach Risacher and how many picks do you want, including this upcoming drafts first rounder from the Pelicans. Atlanta got a $13 mil trade exception at their disposal.
I’m standing pat for Ant Davis 100% if I’m Atlanta. Trae and Giannis together could be interesting.
Hawks aren’t trading the Pels pick. They aren’t a win-now team.
Don’t blame them and would be happy to keep that pick myself….only for Giannis do I part with this package.
You’re ridiculous
Ok, care to elaborate?
I think I misread your post
Mavs may be feeling out the market for AD. They aren’t giving him away. So slow your roll. They have till next yr if they want to move him.
Why would Hawks take on AD. Especially if he wants to get paid. There isn’t a team on this planet. That will sign AD to lucrative contract. He isn’t worth what he is getting now. He plays 60% of his games. Which means the Clippers or Sixers will sign him.
Yeah – he’s headed to the Clippers.
How about Hawks trade Trae to T-Wolves for Conley Divincenzo and Naz Reid.
With McDaniels and Rudy as point of attack D and rim protector you can afford to have Trae on the floor with Ant and Randle. I like Trae Young and he could help the T-Wolves. Naz Reid is the biggest outgoing chip here, but he is a limited player in many ways. They can afford to lose Naz and I believe Trae could do more for them and get them closer to the promised land.
I don’t think that trade works given apron restrictions. Minnesota would probably have to give up McDaniels, Randle or Golbert to make the numbers work in any trade for young.
I think the numbers actually line up. Throw in Ingles or some other filler. Both teams are in the first apron.
Ganna nerd out a bit. You have to meet the minimum roster requirements, so remember to leave space to backfill minimum salaries to get to minimum number of players on the roster. There is probably a way to do it but those 4 for 3 trades don’t happen very often.
no thanks, rather have reid than trae
Can’t think of a team that would want Young. Not even sure the Kings would and that would be my best guess.
If they take Zach they might ……
There are surely teams that could benefit from Trae Young. Pels? Sac? Wiz?
My issue is that he makes 45mil. To me he is more of a 30 mil player. At a lower salary I think he works a lot more places.
If a team could convince Trae to play more like Jason Kidd or John Stockton, and stop chucking 3’s up from the logo like he’s got Steph Curry range, he’d be a great player. He can’t shoot. He makes 99% of his floaters in the lane but insists on shooting 10% from half court. I’ve watched him lose too many games taking dumb shots and having stupid turnovers. Protect the ball and distribute, he’s an elite passer. Probably the best in the league. If he goes to a team like the Heat he’ll have an incredible second act.
Interesting comp, two HOF pgs that were elite defensively. Trae would need to do a complete 180 to play like them. He can’t cover a cinder block let alone a professional basketball player. At this point, I think Trae is what he is and that’s why you see such drastic opinions on his value. I honestly don’t see much value, personally, in a shoot first PG that plays no defense. As a 6th man, sure, but not at a max salary or in crunch time.
Yeah the max money is the hangup for me. In a salary cap world it is all about wins per dollars. He has to be below average on that metric. Now if he was at a lower salary number…
Trae Young is a terrible asset who plays zero defense and is unplayable in the playoffs.
Nobody wants him and Atlanta should be embarrassed, even more than Dallas, that they trade for this guy and let Luka go to the Mavericks.
Trae seems like a very eye of the beholder type of player:
Is he an otherworldly offensive player who is so good that you look past him being too little on defense?
Or is he a ball hog who doesn’t play defense?
I think if you are winning it is the first, but if not then feels more like the second.
Who is going to give AD an extension, lol.