The Dallas Mavericks aren’t in position for true contention this year as they appeared to be last season. A trade for any one of the five names below could give Dallas a shot in the arm in the tight Western Conference.
- Nerlens Noel
Dallas’s best course of action is probably to be as frugal as possible in the trade market. They have limited assets and already are a taxpaying team, tightening the constraints on salary matching. Nerlens Noel would not be the hardest acquisition to make. Noel is in the second year of a three-year contract that includes a team option on the third season.
Noel was moved to the Pistons as part of a salary dump from the Knicks, as part of an effort to get Jalen Brunson in free agency. Dallas would not have to surrender much at all to obtain the big man, likely an expiring contract of their own and second-round draft compensation. The Pistons look to be prioritizing getting a first-round pick or two for Bojan Bogdanovic, but Noel is hardly a part of the long-term picture in Detroit. Dwight Powell’s expiring contract and future second-round picks ought to be sufficient to make the deal happen.
2. Josh Richardson
Mavs fans might understandably get P.T.S.D. just from hearing the name Josh Richardson alone. But all things considered, Richardson might actually make some sense for this Mavs team. Rick Carlisle just never found a real role for Richardson, who Dallas essentially dumped to the Celtics in an effort to find space for Kyle Lowry in free agency. We all know how that turned out.
Richardson is still a capable and rangy defender with just enough ball handling and shot-creation skills to become a part of the solution for the Mavericks. San Antonio is rebuilding and won’t be that much better with Richardson in the fold than without him, leaving the interest in making veterans like Richardson available in the short term. Richardson and Noel are basically in the same position contractually and should cost about the same in the end for Dallas.
3. Myles Turner
If one thing has been made clear in the last few years for Dallas, a competent center is desperately needed in Dallas. The Mavericks made a clear effort to improve their front court in the offseason, trading for Christian Wood and using the Taxpayer Mid-level Exception on JaVale McGee. Wood has been as advertised since arriving, but McGee has been a nonfactor from day one.
Dallas still has no answer to their center problem and McGee still has two long years and an inexplicable player option remaining on his deal. Turner, while not anyone’s idea of a dominant star center, is more or less a complete player. He’s one of the best rim defenders in the NBA with a consistent three-point shot and would be the third 17+ point-per-game scorer in the starting lineup. Nabbing Turner would certainly be more costly than Noel or Richardson, and would likely involve a first-round pick and a difficult long-term payment decision.
4. D’Angelo Russell
As much if not more than the center position, Dallas has a gaping hole in their backcourt. They simply haven’t replaced Jalen Brunson and are in dire need of scoring and ball-handling help. D’Angelo Russell has completely fallen out of favor in Minnesota, and while it feels like an awkward fit at best, there’s some logic to pulling the trigger on Russell.
The Timberwolves seem desperate to make any sort of realignment to their roster after the miserable trade for Rudy Gobert. There aren’t many teams around the league looking for a player exactly like Russell at the deadline, making it seem as though there simply won’t be too much demand for him. The Mavs could potentially get Russell for a surprisingly low price and get a capable ball handler on an expiring contract if they decide they don’t want to go beyond this season with him.
5. Bojan Bogdanović
Dallas so far has been linked to a number of players at the deadline, including Cam Reddish, Noel, and Bojan Bogdanović. Whether or not it’s a good idea to acquire Bogdanović is up for debate, but there’s no denying the Pistons forward would make the Mavericks substantially better, possibly even on both ends. It’s not hyperbole to say Bogdanović is one of the most talented all-around offensive players in the NBA, and gives Dallas the exact dimension to their offense they don’t have at the moment.
Defensively, he’s limited. But he’s repeatedly shown he can be part of a good team defense in spite of not being the most talented individual stopper. The Pistons, similarly to the situation with Noel, are probably happy to sell off a veteran in the pursuit of getting younger and better stocked in the draft. Like Turner, this is probably the most expensive option on the list, involving at least one first-round pick and multiple players in order to make up the salary numbers.
There’s no requirement forcing the Mavericks to make any kind of blockbuster trade, but one of these five trades seems like a good investment for a struggling Mavs team.
Categories: 2022-23 Season, Mavs Fans For Life
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