The Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks have had a roller coaster season, to say the least. The Kings were a fringe playoff team when they traded De'Aaron Fox but have hung around in the West while the Mavs made arguably the biggest trade blunder in NBA history.
However, with word that star Domantas Sabonis wants clarification about the direction of the Kings, it raises questions about his future in Sacramento. With the Kings having already traded Fox, who wanted out due to similar concerns, CBS Sports Sam Quinn just proposed an intriguing trade.
The soon-to-be-discussed deal would be seismic for both teams. The Mavs fumbled the bag by sending out a generational talent for a star, a young starter, and a first-round pick. That downgrade cost them big time, with fans turning on the Mavs. Kyrie Irving also had to play big minutes to offset the loss of Doncic and suffered an ACL tear, possibly as a result.
Meanwhile, Anthony Davis, who got injured in his first and only game with the Mavs, may not play again this season. Dallas is all but certain to lose in the play-in tournament, resulting in a lottery pick. With their current team built around Irving and Doncic, and Irving possibly out for the rest of this year and Doncic no longer on the team, they should strongly consider rebuilding.
Making another big trade could make the Doncic trade look even worse, but keeping the roster the same to try and save face doesn't make sense. Davis and the spare parts aren't a playoff team. That makes Quinn's framework of a trade with the Kings interesting.
Wild proposed Mavericks and Kings blockbuster sends Anthony Davis to Sacramento.
In Quinn's potential trade, the Mavs could offer up a package that includes 2024 14th overall pick Dylan Carter, as well as DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk. They can also include Minnesota's 2031 unprotected first, and Sacramento's 2027 first.
An insane idea I have that feels increasingly plausible by the day:
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) March 7, 2025
Nico Harrison out as Mavs GM after the season. Replacement wants to rebuild.
Kings front office desperate to save their jobs. Need an all-in trade.
Kings YOLO their picks/yourh for Anthony Davis.
The Mavs would get a solid prospect in Carter, a potentially great first from Minnesota, and another first for the 32-year-old Davis, which actually isn't a bad haul. Especially if they can flip DeRozan for another asset or two. The move would clear the decks for Dallas to rebuild and restock their draft stockpile, even though it could permanently alienate them from their fans.
The deal would pair Davis with Sabonis and Zach LaVine in Sacramento. Whether that would be a winning combination is questionable, but it could be something that the Kings consider. For one, it could keep Sabonis happy with him seemingly unsure of the direction of the franchise.
Another reason is that Davis' strengths on defense would offset Sabonis' weaknesses on that end. They are currently seventh in offensive rating but 17th in defensive rating. If Davis can get them closer to being a top-10 defense, then that could propel the Kings back into being a playoff contender, but perhaps not much more than that.
The alternative is that they do a full teardown. That may be hard for them to do with DeRozan and LaVine under contract for two more seasons and unlikely to get a major return.
Also, Sabonis is perhaps too old at 27 to rebuild around. That's not to mention they don't control their pick in 2028, making it harder to rebuild through the draft. From Sacramento's perspective, pursuing Davis makes sense. For Dallas, less so, but after they traded Doncic, it's hard to say what they will do going forward.