Anthony Davis should and may already be on the Miami Heat's trade radar. With the way the Dallas Mavericks have struggled out of the gate, Pat Riley should be licking his chops at the idea of acquiring AD at the NBA Trade Deadline.
In theory, pairing Anthony Davis with Bam Adebayo in the frontcourt would be one of the best-case scenarios for the Heat, as they search for another star player to add. The two played together for Team USA last year, and they looked great as they created one of the best frontcourt duos in the Olympics.
If the Heat were to pull off such a move, Miami, depending on what they'd have to give up, could emerge as a legit championship contender in the Eastern Conference. And as more and more uncertainty continues to follow the Mavs, trading AD quietly becomes more and more of a possibility as well.
The Dallas Mavericks are imploding
Through the first 11 games of the season, the Mavs are just 3-8 and are sporting the second-worst offense in the league. Without a healthy Kyrie Irving, Dallas simply doesn't have enough firepower on the offensive end of the floor to keep pace on most nights.
No matter how good their defense has been, with AD and Cooper Flagg, the Mavs can't get out of their own way on the offensive end of the floor. At this point, it's so bad that it would be foolish to expect that Kyrie, coming off a significant knee injury, is going to solve it all.
That's not happening.
But even beyond the Mavs' woeful play is the persistent question about the franchise's direction. After trading Luka Doncic last season, there have been no easy answers about what lies ahead for this franchise.
They certainly didn't help matters any after officially firing general manager Nico Harrison. With even more cloudiness ahead, you can't help but wonder where the Mavs will turn next.
One thing is for sure, though, and it's the fact that if the Mavs do end up pivoting toward some sort of rebuilding or retooling, the Heat will be on line 1, or at least they should be, if AD suddenly becomes available.
Even if a best-case scenario outcome for this season, Dallas was never going to be considered a contender in the Western Conference. Now that they've turned the page on Harrison, it's only natural for a new general manager to come in and craft his own version of the team.
One that probably won't include an older AD on the roster.
If the Heat are looking to add a superstar in the near future and are turned off by the idea of Ja Morant or Trae Young, AD could all of a sudden be considered a plausible option. And he'd be an excellent addition to this emerging roster.