Stein: Anthony Davis’ return for the Mavericks could come within the week

The NBA insider reported Saturday that Davis’ return to action could be as soon as Dallas’ upcoming four-game road trip.

The Dallas Mavericks (34-37) apparently still believe this season is worth salvaging — at least, that’s one conclusion to be drawn from the latest reporting from NBA insider Marc Stein.

Stein reported on Saturday that Anthony Davis’ return to action for the Mavericks is coming sooner than many previously thought. It could come as soon as next week, as Dallas embarks on a four-game swing through the east, according to Stein’s latest, which cites “league sources.”

Davis “is in increasingly strong contention to make his return to the floor during the Mavericks’ upcoming swing through the Eastern Conference,” as Stein puts it. The Mavs have a back-to-back set in New York City on Monday and Tuesday, when they will face the Brooklyn Nets, then the New York Knicks. The trip wraps up with a jaunt down to Orlando to face the Magic before wrapping up with a game at the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.

The report indicates that a more specific return date for Davis has not yet been set. The big man reportedly participated twice during the past week in 5-on-5 practice sessions with the Mavericks’ NBA G League affiliate, the Texas Legends.

The development positions Davis as the first of the Mavericks’ three inside presences to be eligible to return to action. Daniel Gafford (knee), who joined the Mavericks’ broadcast crew for an interview during Friday’s 123-117 win over the Detroit Pistons, and Dereck Lively II (ankle) are apparently still behind Davis in their recovery plans.

Gafford offered the following update on his own progress in working his way back in that on-air interview:

“Practice was good — getting a lot of range of motion in the knee, getting my body right, and getting my cardio back,” Gafford said. “I’ve got to get the lungs going again, get the leg conditioning back, just working through everything. But everything went well today. It was just another step in the process and the progress, trying to get back on the floor with the guys. Good vibes, great atmosphere, great attitude — just trying to get better and feel better too.”

Davis went down with an adductor strain in the third quarter of his first game with the Mavs on Feb. 8, a 116-105 win over the Houston Rockets. It was a non-contact injury, which was especially concerning in light of Davis’ previous and extensive injury history. Davis was a beast in the first two-and-a-half quarters of his time in Dallas, going off for 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocked shots in the win over the Rockets. He was coming off a career-best year in terms of availability in 2023-24, playing 76 games with the Los Angeles Lakers before the injury that has cost him the last 18 games of this year.

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon previously reported that Davis wanted to return to the court this season, rather than be shelved in favor of surgery or a more prolonged recovery plan.

“There are people that have said to AD ‘Why? Why take the risk?’,” MacMahon said on a recent episode of the Hoop Collective podcast. “He wants to play.” That desire is a welcome one for a Mavericks team whose roster has been decimated by not only the injuries to the three big bodies but also a season-ending knee injury for Kyrie Irving, a nagging hip injury to newcomer Caleb Martin and a more recent season-ender for Dante Exum.

Two-way players Kessler Edwards, Kai Jones and Brandon Williams’ allotment of games with the big squad will expire before the regular season ends — indeed, Edwards only has one game left with the Mavericks and was held out of Friday’s win over the Pistons to give him one more opportunity to play with the team on the upcoming road swing.

Edwards has played some five for the Mavs as the injuries have mounted then mounted some more. So, could his one game of eligibility remaining hint at a possible return for Davis on the second game of the Eastern Conference swing against the Knicks on Tuesday? It’s at least within the realm of possibility if Stein’s sources are correct.

Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images

If none of the three big men were on pace to return to action for any part of the 11 games remaining in the regular season, the prospect of forfeiting games was not out of the equation. An NBA team must field at least eight players for any given game. The fact that the Mavericks’ injury woes have even reached the point where we have to consider the possibility of forfeiting a game due to not having enough available players is further evidence of the depths of despair this thing has sunk to following one of the most surprising and cataclysmic trades in NBA history.

Dallas reportedly asked the league for “relief” last week amid the team’s roster constraints. According to the Hoop Collective’s Brian Windhorst, the league did not offer that relief. Well, well, well, mused Mavs Moneyball’s own Tyler Edsel in our blog post chronicling that news item — if it isn’t the consequences of my own actions.

Not to be lost in all the considerations regarding Davis’ possible return is the Mavericks’ hopes to salvage a play-in berth in the Western Conference come playoff time. They currently sit just behind the 10th-place Phoenix Suns, who beat the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday to keep pace with the Mavs. Both teams are currently 34-37, but Phoenix owns the tie-breaker with Dallas after winning the season series between the two teams.

“Everyone had a positive day,” Kidd told several reporters present before the win over the Pistons on Friday when asked how Davis, Lively II and Gafford fared in their work with the Legends. “Hopefully we can get them back in uniform and playing, but there is no timetable.”

So, that’s the official team position on the trio’s possible return, with Stein’s reporting pointing to a little more progress on Davis’ part. If you’re one of the Mavs hangers-on still hoping for a shocking playoff run when all the pieces fall into place at the last possible second, God bless you in all of your optimism.

It is technically still in the field of all possible outcomes, and Davis’ return would be a huge boost to that end.