I know Utah Jazz fans. Just hear me out.
The Jazz are tanking this year, and as miserable as that strategy looks on the court, the takeaway is that this is the last time in the Lauri Markkanen era that Utah will throw the season away. This summer, they'll flip the script. While they could try to add a game-changer in free agency, there's no guarantee they'll succeed, or if the player they hypothetically add will change things. If they were to go after him, Anthony Davis would (hypothetically) change so much for the Jazz.
Let's start this confronting the elephant in the room.
Davis is injury-prone & aging, which makes him overpaid
Those three reasons are why Jazz fans would understandably be opposed to this idea. Davis has always been an injury risk, and that's only gotten worse since he became a Maverick. Jazz fans have seen this firsthand, as the Jazz were the last team he played against before his most recent injury.
That's also why he would be pretty cheap for the talent he still has. His trade value is as low as it's ever been, and his name getting floated in plenty of trade rumors (along with Nico Harrison's firing) would signify that Dallas wants to move on. Teams are apprehensive about getting someone like Davis, and that's precisely why the Jazz should take that risk.
With all of that out there, here's what a trade would look like between the two teams.
Mavericks get: Jusuf Nurkic, Kyle Anderson, Georges Niang, Kevin Love, Svi Mykhailiuk, 2027 Lakers first-round pick (top-4 protected), 2031 Suns unprotected first-round pick
Jazz get: Davis and Caleb Martin (via the John Collins TPE)
So basically, in a trade like this, the Jazz bail the Mavericks out, allowing Dallas to embrace the Cooper Flagg era. One could even argue that with all the games Davis has missed, the Jazz wouldn't even have to give up any draft assets to get him.
Basically the Jazz fork over their cap room, which seems drastic, but they would make this deal believing he would be worth the risk.
The Jazz need what Davis provides
Utah will have cap space this summer, and it appears their target is Austin Reaves. Reaves is an exceptional scorer, and he's proven as much, but the dirty little secret about the Jazz is that they don't need scoring. The offense hums fine with Markkanen and Keyonte George leading the way. Plus, they expect Ace Bailey to improve gradually with time. What they need is defense, and Davis gives them an infusion of that by himself.
There's a reason why the Lakers wanted Walker Kessler for all these years, back when they had Davis on their roster. Because a, he and Davis would have been fantastic together on defense, and b, Kessler allows Davis to slide in at the four, which is what he prefers, as he's gone on the record saying as much.
On the other side of the court, because Utah already has Markkanen and George, they wouldn't ask Davis to lead the offense. An even lesser role there, compared to the one he's had in LA and Dallas, could reduce the risk of him getting hurt. Davis is excellent offensively, but less heat on him could not only keep him on the floor, but also make him more dangerous.
Even better, when the Jazz are trying to score late in games, something they're already good at despite what their record says, they can have Markkanen at the four and Davis at the five, making them even harder to stop on that end. Even if Utah were to acquire Davis for his defense, he is a two-way player, which they also desperately need.
He is expensive, so there is some risk there. However, with the Jazz trying to make the playoffs and potentially go after a title after this season, he's worth that risk as long as what it costs them is simply cap room and some draft compensation. If he doesn't work for two years, they can then dangle his contract for players who could.
A deal like this would also be much like what Washington did with Trae Young. Get him on the team, make sure he recovers gracefully, and prepare him for next season. Acquiring Davis is not a foolproof plan, but on paper, this could work out exponentially for the Jazz.