The Dallas Mavericks have been playing well lately. Still, they entered the Christmas Day game against the Golden State Warriors with a disappointing 12-19 record, leaving uncertainty about their future.
For Charles Barkley , however, the vision for the organization is clear: they need to end their "Defense wins championships" experiment because the player at the center of it — Anthony Davis — will never return to full strength, given his age and injury history.
"What are the Mavs gonna do?" he asked . "They're in trouble now, because it's clear to me that Anthony Davis , as much as we like him and love him as a player, he's never gonna be healthy. They gotta make a decision…I think I might move on. If I was running the team, I'd say, 'You know what? It's Cooper's team now."
Barkley said that before Davis left Thursday's game with what the team called groin spasms. He joined the organization as the centerpiece of the Luka Doncic trade because former GM Nico Harrison believed that the only way they would return to the NBA Finals and win it all was by establishing a defensive identity.
No one ever questioned Davis' defensive prowess. However, everyone feared his injury woes would continue.
Before Thursday's showdown against the Warriors, Davis had played in only 15 games this season, nine of which were this month, with the Mavericks going 6-3 during that time. They were toe-to-toe with the Warriors early on, but with 8:50 left in the second quarter and the Mavericks trailing by just four points at 36-40, Davis was injured again.
Upon seeing this, Barkley's vision for the Mavericks became even clearer.
"This is bad, man. It's time to do a full rebuild down in Dallas," Barkley said after the game. "It's time to do a full rebuild. Listen, AD, maybe even Kyrie, and Klay Thompson… It's time to start over and build around Cooper Flagg. I think you start to rebuild because they don't have any draft picks. And I think if those guys went to another team, they could help them because the East is wide open."
Last month, Mark Cuban was asked if the organization had plans to trade Davis after the guy who got him to Dallas, Nico Harrison, was fired. Cuban said no because they want to try to win this year.
However, with this latest development, it's unclear if Cuban will stick to that stance.
Davis was a monster in his Mavericks' home debut last season, but later in the game, he suffered an abductor strain and missed 18 games. This season, he missed 14 games due to a left calf strain, and now it's his right groin that's hurt.
ESPN's Malika Andrews said that the decision to sit out Davis for the rest of the game was due to " an abundance of caution ." No matter how it's explained, the bottom line is that the 32-year-old will be out again, which is never good news for Dallas fans.
This is the second consecutive Christmas Day game where the Mavericks lost a superstar to injury. Last year, Doncic strained his left calf during the team's December 25 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves . It turned out to be his last game as a Maverick.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Dec 26, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
