Lies! Anthony Davis himself repeatedly criticized Shams' report: denying surgery and trade rumors.

On January 14th Beijing time, Anthony Davis' injury situation officially escalated. Renowned reporter Shams first reported that Davis is expected to undergo surgery to repair the ligaments in his left hand, sidelining him for several months. Shams also revealed that the Mavericks have resumed trade talks involving Davis, contacting multiple interested teams, a move that could pave the way for the center to join another team in pursuit of the playoffs.

Davis denied Shams' report and refuted it through social media. "Everyone better stop believing these lies on these platforms," Davis wrote on social media, later replying "Lies" under multiple posts citing the breaking news.

Shortly after, reporter Stein stated that the Mavericks remain optimistic internally: even if Davis requires surgery on his left hand, he is expected to return at some point in March. If true, the Mavericks could choose to keep Davis and attempt to make a play-in tournament push. However, if Dallas retains Davis past the trade deadline, he is more likely to be traded during the offseason.

Any team interested in trading for Davis would also need to take on his $58.5 million salary for next season. Davis holds a player option worth $62.8 million for the 2027-28 season, so teams must weigh this contract commitment alongside his recent injury history when evaluating a trade. Additionally, multiple media outlets have reported that Davis is seeking a contract extension.

Since moving from the Lakers to the Mavericks last February in a blockbuster trade involving Luka Dončić, the 10-time All-Star has been plagued by injuries, appearing in only 29 regular-season games and one play-in game.

At the time of the trade, Davis was recovering from an abdominal strain; then, in his debut with the Mavericks, he suffered a groin strain that sidelined him for six weeks.

This season, Davis missed 14 games in November due to a left calf strain. According to Stein’s report, Mavericks owner Dumont demanded that Davis not return unless medical tests confirm no risk of aggravating the injury, which has further extended his absence. The team wants to ensure Davis’ calf is fully healed.

Mavericks coach Kidd addressed Davis’ return timeline in a pregame interview, saying the possibility of Davis missing the entire season has not been ruled out. However, based on the final treatment plan, Davis is expected to miss at least six weeks.

“I think he’ll meet with doctors sometime this week, but there’s no specific schedule or timeline yet on when he’ll announce a decision,” Kidd said before the team’s win over the Nets.Shams reported that Davis will visit a hand specialist in Los Angeles today.

Davis’ agent and Klutch Sports founder Rich Paul also discussed the possibility of Davis being traded on a podcast.

“If you plan to trade a player, there’s always a right time,” Paul said. “There’s almost a strategic game here: you try to wait longer to maximize the player’s value, but that comes with risks... One possibility is you get a high draft pick, then next season realize, ‘Wait, we have two young players on rookie deals performing well,’ plus Kyrie and AD, two top-15 players in the league... So it’s not entirely hopeless.”