Mavericks Trade Anthony Davis to Bulls, Embrace Tank

Merlin sees Dallas leaning toward a hard reset. With Nico Harrison gone, Kyrie out for months and a brutal start to 2025-26, the plan proposes moving Anthony Davis in a three-team swap with Chicago and Brooklyn to shed salary, create trade exceptions, and chase a top-2026 lottery pick. The deal times to Dec. 15 when Tre Jones becomes trade-eligible and would net Dallas pieces like Collins and Huerter plus flexibility to target prospects such as Darryn Peterson or AJ Dybantsa. Merlin smells both opportunity and peril. Offloading Davis’ $58.5M opens payroll breathing room and boosts lottery odds, while Jones’ team-friendly contract and expiring deals give maneuverability. But Davis’ health, the complexity of three-way paperwork and short-term fan fallout are real. If Dallas truly commits to a gap year, it could transform from grudging hopeful to genuine contender by 2026-27 — assuming the draft brings treasure instead of fool’s gold.