Getty Tim Hardaway Jr. #11 of the Dallas Mavericks.
Depending on who you ask, Luka Doncic is urging the Dallas Mavericks to take a swing to upgrade the roster ahead of next month’s trade deadline. According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Doncic wants upgrades. But according to owner Mark Cuban, Doncic has made no overtures or demands to the front office.
Either way, it would certainly behoove Dallas to be active over the next few weeks.
One area of improvement: wing depth. With Josh Green and Tim Hardaway, Jr. serving as the team’s primary wing threats (and rookie Jaden Hardy continuing to look promising), the Mavs would do well to add a few bodies to throw at opposing defenses come playoff time. In addition to wing depth, Dallas could use a secondary ballhandler, especially after the Kemba Walker experiment went Stanford Prison Project sooner than expected.
In a recent trade proposed by Bobby Marks, MacMahon’s colleague at ESPN, the Mavs land their players, shedding two of its highest salaries in the process.
Here’s what Marks suggested:
Mavericks Receive: Terry Rozier, Kelly Oubre, Jr., Jalen McDaniels
Hornets Receive: Tim Hardaway, Jr. Davis Bertans, 2027 first-round pick (top-ten protection)
Rozier, a former conference finalist with the Boston Celtics, could immediately slot in as Dallas’ secondary playmaker. He’s started most of the season, but is likely better suited off the bench.
Oubre and McDaniels both provide nice wing depth, should Green or Hardy have an off night.
Mavs Looking for Hardaway, Jr. Takers
It’s no secret that Dallas is dangling Hardaway, Jr., looking for takers for a player who is an elite shooter on his day, but carries a price tag of $52 million over the next three seasons.
According to an Eastern Conference GM who spoke with Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports, the Cleveland Cavaliers could be a suitor for Hardaway’s services.
This play from Terry Rozier is sick🥶 #Hornets
“Obviously, there is interest in adding Tim Hardaway Jr. but the problem there is, the Mavs are not tanking, they want someone they can use. Caris LeVert is a nice player, but he is a little redundant on that Dallas team, the Cavs would have to give up something else,” the executive told Deveney.
With Dinwiddie on the roster, LeVert is a redundant talent in Dallas. The Mavericks ideally need more shooting and defense around Doncic, neither one of which LeVert has been known for over his career.
Hornets ‘Assured Sellers Ahead of Deadline
That the Hornets might engage in a firesale isn’t altogether surprising, either. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Charlotte is one of the league’s likeliest sellers.
“For now, San Antonio and Charlotte are viewed as two of the NBA’s assured sellers in the market. The Houston Rockets also have guard Eric Gordon as a trade candidate but have set an asking price of a good young player or first-round pick for Gordon, league sources say,” Charania wrote.
Scary Terry Rozier putting the moves on the defense 🎃
Charlotte currently has the worst record in professional basketball. Most seasons, a team in that position would be dusting off the scouting notebooks to find a franchise cornerstone.
But with a potentially franchise-changing talent in Victor Wembanyama coming through the draft this season, stragglers like the Hornets and Spurs are even more incentivized to bottom out.