Anthony Davis has played 31 minutes for the Mavericks and they probably already need to trade him

Any optimism in Dallas died before Davis played his second game as a Maverick

The most charitable possible explanation for the Luka Dončić trade -- and this was already a stretch -- was that it improved the team's short-term prospects. Nico Harrison told us as much when he said, "The future to me is three to four years from now" in his post-trade press conference. Anthony Davis, though not nearly as valuable as Dončić, complements Kyrie Irving quite well. Max Christie has already played well in Dallas, and the extra first-round pick gained gave Dallas another chip to use for further upgrades over the summer. That still probably didn't make the post-Dončić Mavericks better than the pre-Dončić Mavericks, but a justification existed if you were willing to look for it hard enough.

Well, Year No. 1 of that theoretical window went up in smoke on Monday when Kyrie Irving tore his left ACL. It's entirely possible that Year No. 2 is gone as well. There's not exactly a fixed timeline for ACL recoveries. Consider the cases of Iman Shumpert and Derrick Rose. The two of them both tore ACLs on the same day: April 28, 2012. Shumpert was back on the court by Jan. 17, 2013. Rose did not play a single minute during the 2012-13 season. Late-season ACL tears like theirs have derailed multiple seasons for several critical players. Jamal Murray tore his ACL on April 12, 2021, and did not return until the beginning of the 2022-23 season. Irving is in his 30s. He has a lengthy history of injuries, especially in the left knee, that includes his presently torn ligament. There is no guarantee whatsoever that Irving will play next season. Even if he does, the odds of him returning to full strength by the playoffs don't appear great.