Trade & FA 2025-26: Free Agency Starts 5pm CST/6pm EST

[Smitty]

Is it? What is there to be won in January that would have been be a team's priority driving a trade, that isn't there anymore? Can't live without a few extra regular-season wins in the doldrums of mid-season? Yeah, I see the theory, but not sure it really holds up to closer scrutiny.

Sure, AD being sidelined for a bit could motivate a team to perhaps wait a month, until the TDL, and a month closer to him being available. Of course, if another team decided they didn't need to wait, and came to pay the price and scooped him up in the meantime, then ... ???

We have seen before that it's less about the timing, and more about how a team values the prize. If you don't value him very much, then you hem and haw and wait for everything to be the perfect moment. But if you value him enough, you probably do not wait at all. 

If the line went away, it will come back.

The AD stuff is fascinating. For all we know the Mavs turned down a great offer a few days ago, in a potential 3-team deal wrapped up in the Trea trade. Now, fans are even more frustrated because the Davis experience is so predictable and the reminder of “the trade” can never fully go away. Yes, he’s a top X player in the league but like Lively, I’m past trying to sell others on the play and fit. He just doesn’t get on the court enough here for it to matter. Like I said earlier with DLive, the idea of AD is greater than the reality.

As for a potential TDL deal still being possible, I think you’re probably correct that it’s not completely off the table. There’s a world where Davis elects to put off surgery, making his timeline for recovery around 6 weeks. The TDL is Feb 5th. The Hawks return from the ASB Feb 19th. Well, the 19th is exactly 6 weeks for AD’s recovery. So, if ATL makes a trade for Davis at the deadline, he will have only missed 3 games that he would have otherwise played in. Similar to when the Mavs traded for him initially. Far from a deal breaker, like you said.