It’s possible to imagine a world in which the Pacers and Mavericks would make sense as trade partners for Anthony Davis.
But such a world couldn’t include the current NBA salary cap structure.
If it were just as simple as each side being able to provide something the other wanted, the two teams could almost definitely come to an agreement. Davis’ recent injury history would make him a risky bet for the Pacers, but after losing Myles Turner to free agency last summer they’re in clear need of a high-caliber big man who they could combine with All-Stars Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam when Haliburton returns from an Achilles tendon tear next season to try to make another NBA Finals run. And when healthy, Davis is one of the highest-caliber big men there is with 10 All-Star nods, five All-NBA selections and five elections to the All-Defensive team. He’s averaged at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks per game in nine of his 14 seasons in the NBA.
The Pacers, meanwhile, have some useful pieces for a team interested in rebuilding, which the Mavericks might be after firing general manager Nico Harrison, who engineered the deal that brought Davis to Dallas for MVP candidate Luka Doncic. In Bennedict Mathurin and Jarace Walker, the Pacers have two former lottery picks under age 24 who presumably wouldn’t be considered untouchable and — thanks to a seemingly prescient trade during the NBA Finals that brought them their 2026 pick back — they hold all of their first-round draft picks through 2032 and at least one conditional pick in every second round through 2032. If the Mavericks wanted to center their rebuild around Cooper Flagg, the Pacers have the sort of assets that could help them do it.
However, the Pacers are over the salary cap and the Mavericks are over the first luxury tax apron, which means both teams have trade restrictions that would make a deal hard to work out. There have been the beginnings of internet rumors about the Pacers having some interest in Davis but acquiring him would likely force them to give up too much of what they’ve already built.
As a first apron team, the Mavericks have to send out at least as much salary in a trade as they take in. The Pacers have a little more leeway and can bring in up to 125% of the salary they send out, but they are also hard-capped at the first apron. However, Davis has a max contract that pays him 35% of the salary cap or $54,126,450 this season. He has another year on the contract and then a player option for the 2027-28 season which will pay him even more. To acquire him this season, the Pacers need to send out at least $43 million in salary, and that’s not an easy figure for them to hit.
What follows are a few trades that would be legal under the salary cap according to Spotrac.com’s trade machine, but all of them are hard to imagine happening. The teams could — and presumably would — include draft capital in any of these deals.
Trade 1
Pacers get: F/C Anthony Davis (2025-26 Salary: $54,126,450)
Mavericks get: F Pascal Siakam (2025-26 Salary: $45,550,512)
Outlook: The easiest way to acquire a max-contract player mathematically is to send out another max-contract player. Siakam isn’t being paid quite at Davis’ level but his four-year deal with the Pacers pays him 30% of the salary cap each year and that puts enough money on the table for the Pacers to acquire Davis for Siakam straight up.
But of course, that move doesn’t make a lot of sense for either team. If the Mavericks decide to move Davis, they’ll probably want to get younger to acquire players closer to Flagg’s timeline, and Siakam doesn’t fit that bill at age 31. Siakam might be a perfect mentor for Flagg as they are both 6-9 and have the ability to handle the ball on the perimeter and shoot, but paying $45 million for a mentor doesn’t seem like the wisest use of salary cap space.
On the Pacers’ side of the deal, the idea of acquiring Davis isn’t nearly as appealing if they have to give up Siakam. He’s been everything they’ve asked him to be since he was acquired from the Raptors in January of 2024 leading the Pacers in scoring each of the last two seasons and carrying them this year with Haliburton out. He can play in transition, he fits easily in their randomized offense but he can also get them isolation buckets when they need them. He’s more than a year younger than Davis and he doesn’t have nearly the big man’s injury history. Davis has cleared 65 games just once since 2017-18 when he was 24 and playing in New Orleans.
Trade 2
Pacers get: F/C Anthony Davis (2025-26 Salary: $54,126,450)
Mavericks get: G Andrew Nembhard (2025-26 Salary: $18,102,000), F Obi Toppin ($14,000,000), F Aaron Nesmith ($11,000,000)
Outlook: Having three players on max contracts — as the Pacers would with Haliburton, Siakam and Davis — makes it very difficult to keep quality role players. This deal would cost the Pacers three of their best. Getting to $43 million in outgoing salary requires at least three of the players they have making between $10 million and $20 million. These three are the Pacers’ highest paid players outside of Siakam and Haliburton, making $43.1 million as a group.
Nembhard has proven a perfect backcourt mate for Haliburton because he can operate as a secondary ball-handler while also coming through with clutch buckets. While Haliburton struggles as an on-ball defender, Nembhard is one of the NBA’s best and his ability to pressure the basketball is fundamental to the Pacers’ play style. Nesmith has fit perfectly as a wing in the Pacers’ system because he doesn’t require the ball much but he can hit catch-and-shoot 3s and keep the ball moving. He’s also nearly as good of a defender as Nembhard and his size makes him more versatile in terms of the matchups he can take on. Toppin is out until February, but his ability to run the floor and finish in transition is critical to make sure the Pacers capitalize when they get to run.
The Pacers presumably wouldn’t have any cap room with Haliburton, Davis and Siakam on the team, even if they let Bennedict Mathurin walk, so replacing those three would be very difficult considering they’d have to do it with veteran minimum contracts. They could re-sign Mathurin and hope for big performances from the likes of Ben Sheppard, Jarace Walker, Johnny Furphy and Kam Jones, but if the Pacers have championship hopes for 2026-27, that would be asking a lot from players who haven’t had starter’s roles in the postseason.
For as good of role players as they are, Nembhard, Toppin and Nesmith don’t necessarily give the Mavericks something they don’t have. Nembhard could be a great fit with Kyrie Irving when he returns, but Dallas has big wings in Najj Marshall, Caleb Martin and P.J. Washington on multi-year deals. The Pacers would have to decimate themselves to make this deal and it might not appeal to the Mavericks that much.
Trade 3
Pacers get: F/C Anthony Davis (2025-26 Salary: $54,126,450)
Mavericks get: F Obi Toppin (2025-26 Salary: $14,000,000), G T.J. McConnell ($10,200,000), G Bennedict Mathurin ($9,187,573), F Jarace Walker ($6,665,520), G Ben Sheppard ($2,790,720), C Jay Huff ($2,349,578).
Outlook: The Pacers have Nembhard signed through 2027-28 and Nesmith through 2028-29, so presumably they consider them integral to any plans to make a run for the title. However, if the Pacers wanted to acquire Davis without giving up either one of them, it would take six players to put together enough salary to make it happen.
Toppin, McConnell, Mathurin, Walker, Sheppard and Huff have all proven to be productive on some level and Toppin, McConnell and Mathurin in particular would be difficult to part with. The Pacers would have to pick up a lot of free agents to fill out the roster and Dallas would have to waive five of their own players just to take on that haul. The multi-year deals for Toppin and McConnell, Mathurin’s expiring contract and Walker heading into an extension summer may not be appealing to the Mavericks, but in both teams’ case, the headaches that come with moving that many players might be more than they’re worth.
Trade 4
Pacers Get: F/C Anthony Davis (2025-26 Salary: $54,126,450)
Mavericks Get: F Obi Toppin (2025-26 Salary: $14,000,000), F, Aaron Nesmith ($11,000,000) G T.J. McConnell ($10,200,000), G Bennedict Mathurin ($9,187,573),
Outlook: If the Pacers move Nesmith or Nembhard, they can pull off a deal for four players, but still, this deal would be sending a lot of talent and winning experience out the door. Keeping Nembhard would help, but they would lose point guard depth, wing scoring talent and a significant amount of perimeter defense. What they would get from Davis, provided he stayed healthy, would be considerable, but the risk of not getting much healthy time. out of him would likely be enough for the Pacers to pass on this.
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