Mavericks GM Compares New Roster To Cavaliers After Anthony Davis Trade

The Dallas Mavericks could look to recreate the Cleveland Cavaliers game plan after trading for All-Star Anthony Davis.

Dec 31, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) controls the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The NBA is known for its stunning trades and shocking player movement, but even with that reputation, the Anthony Davis-Luka Doncic trade is still hard to comprehend.

But there's no going back now.

Doncic is on the Los Angeles Lakers, and Anthony Davis joins the Dallas Mavericks. Now, we can start analyzing how these players will mesh with their new teams.

Outside of the decision to trade Doncic, one of the biggest questions about this deal is how Davis fits into this current iteration of the Mavericks team.

Dallas already has Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II, who are solid young centers/power forwards. With AD's addition, the Mavs clearly have a surplus of frontcourt players on their roster.

Nico Harrison, the Mavericks' General Manager, discussed this after the trade and compared his current roster to the makeup of the Cleveland Cavaliers' core.

"I think if you look at the Cleveland Cavaliers, that's what you're going to see," said Harrison during an interview with The Dallas Morning News.

"Anthony's probably going to finish games at the five, but you're going to see those guys play together. And when Lakers won, he played the four."

Dec 31, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) moves the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Playing two-seven footers next to one another in the frontcourt isn't a conventional game plan in today's fast-paced, three-pointer, shooting-centric NBA. However, it's something the Cavs have found success with.

While the Evan Mobley-Jarrett Allen pairing got off to a rocky start four years ago, everything is coming together for the duo this season.

When Mobley and Allen share the floor, they have a 123.6 offensive rating and a 110.5 defensive rating. This comes out to a NET rating of 13.2, which makes it the second-best pairing on Cleveland's roster.

The ironic part of this comment is that the Cavaliers have faced heavy criticism since paring Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen together heading into the 2021 season.

Now, it appears that other teams across the league are trying to recreate what the Cavaliers are doing in their frontcourt.