Dante Exum and Anthony Davis traded to Wizards

• ‍Traded: Utah lands Jock Landale in eight-player blockbuster
• Duop Reath traded to Atlanta Hawks as Luke Travers is waived‍
• Australian Josh Giddey's 2026 NBA All-Star Game snub
• What the 2026 trade deadline means for Aussies in NBA

Australian Boomers bronze medallist and Dallas Mavericks wing Dante Exum has been traded today to the Washington Wizards as part of deal that includes All-NBA First Team superstar Anthony Davis.

A breaking news report has revealed:

Mavericks receive:

• Khris Middleton
• AJ Johnson
• Malaki Branham
• Marvin Bagley III
• 2 first-round picks
• 3 second-round picks

Wizards receive:

• Anthony Davis
• Jaden Hardy
• D'Angelo Russell
• Dante Exum

The 30-year-old wing returned to the NBA in 2023 after two seasons in Europe but his career has been crushed by injuries. His 2025-26 season was put on ice on November 21, 2025 by "complications" from a procedure on his right knee during the offseason.

Exum's career has spanned the NBA, Europe, and international basketball, defined by elite athletic tools, repeated injury setbacks, and a successful late-career resurgence.

The fifth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Exum entered the league with the Utah Jazz as a high-upside guard but saw his early NBA years repeatedly disrupted by major injuries, including a torn ACL. After stints with Utah and Cleveland, he exited the NBA in 2021 and rebuilt his career in Europe with FC Barcelona and Partizan Belgrade, where he won an ABA League championship and earned All-ABA League Team honours in 2023.

Exum’s international standing was cemented with the Australian Boomers, winning Olympic bronze at Tokyo 2020, a defining moment that reignited his professional trajectory. His European success paved the way for an NBA return with the Dallas Mavericks, where he became a rotation guard on a team that reached the NBA Finals, averaging solid two-way contributions before another injury-limited season.

Known for his size, speed, defensive versatility, and downhill attacking, Exum has evolved into a role guard who complements stars rather than carrying primary creation. Re-signed by Dallas on a one-year deal in 2025, his career stands as a case study in resilience, adaptability, and global basketball mobility, with continued relevance for both the Mavericks and the Boomers.

Davis was part of the stunning blockbuster trade between the Mavs and Los Angeles Lakers that sent Luka Dončić to California, ultimately costing Dallas general manager Nico Harrison his job.

In 2025–26, Dončić and Davis are almost opposites in how they shape a team – both elite, but in totally different ways.

On-court role

• Luka Dončić (Lakers) – primary engine. He’s the ball-dominant creator who dictates pace, matchup-hunts, and generates the majority of a team’s shot quality through self-creation and playmaking (33.4 points, 8.7 assists, 7.9 rebounds).
• Anthony Davis (Mavericks) – two-way big hub. He anchors defence, cleans possessions with rebounds and rim protection, and scores more as a finisher and interior focal point than as a perimeter initiator (20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists). But he's played just 20 of the Mavericks 50 games.

Impact profile

• Dončić – offence-first dominance: league-leading scoring volume with elite creation load; the Lakers’ identity tilts toward high-usage perimeter orchestration.
• Davis – defence-first leverage: his biggest value is coverage versatility and rim deterrence, with offence coming inside the structure.

Availability and continuity

• Dončić – has been on the floor consistently (41 games) and is producing huge month-to-month stretches (e.g., January Player of the Month).
• Davis – has played fewer games (20) and has again been interrupted by injury status, affecting Dallas’ ability to build continuity around him.

Team context

• Lakers with Dončić – built around a perimeter superstar who drives everything possession-by-possession.
• Mavericks with Davis – built around a frontcourt star whose value is stabilising both ends, especially defensively, but whose season flow can be disrupted when he’s unavailable.

The Davis-Doncic Trade Breakdown

On a seemingly ordinary Sunday morning 12 months ago, the basketball world was turned upside down when news broke of a three-team trade involving the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Utah Jazz. The specifics of the deal are as follows:

Los Angeles Lakers receive:

• G Luka Doncic
• F Maxi Kleber
• F Markieff Morris

Dallas Mavericks receive:

• C Anthony Davis
• G Max Christie
• 2029 first-round pick

Utah Jazz receive:

• G Jalen Hood-Schifino
• 2025 second-round pick (via LA Clippers)
• 2025 second-round pick (via Dallas)

Anthony Davis Summary

• Anthony Davis is an NBA champion (Lakers, 2020) and long-time elite two-way big, known primarily as a defensive anchor with rim protection, rebounding, and switchability, plus a varied offensive package (post, face-up, mid-range, play-finishing).
• Accolades: 8-time All-Star (2014–2021), 4-time All-NBA First Team (2015, 2017, 2018, 2020), NBA 75th Anniversary Team; also led the league in blocks per game three times (2014, 2015, 2018).
• Career arc: drafted No. 1 in 2012 by New Orleans, became the franchise cornerstone, then traded to the Lakers in 2019 where he and LeBron James won the 2020 title.
• Why he stands out: rare combination of size and mobility – can play as a traditional big or in modern schemes that demand switching and coverage versatility.
• Major trade context: he was stunningly traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Dončić on February 2, 2025, in a three-team deal (Lakers received Dončić, Kleber, Morris; Mavericks received Davis, Max Christie, a 2029 first-round pick; Jazz received Hood-Schifino plus two 2025 second-round picks).
• Big-picture impact: the deal shifted Dallas into a more immediate, win-now posture with Davis and Kyrie Irving, while the Lakers reset their long-term timeline around a 25-year-old superstar in Dončić.