Getty Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks and Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.
Now that the regular season has ended, it’s more clear than ever that the Dallas Mavericks were a complete failure. They made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals last year, but despite making a massive trade for Kyrie Irving at this season’s trade deadline, they failed to even make the Play-In.
Heading into the summer, they have some big-time decisions to make. They could choose to re-sign Irving, get rid of him entirely, or complete a sign-and-trade. According to Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report, a potential sign-and-trade with the Atlanta Hawks for Trae Young could be intriguing.
Bailey wrote the following:
Before really diving into that trade package, though, a couple things would need to happen for this to have the remotest possibility of occuring.
First, Kyrie Irving would probably need to signal a desire to play elsewhere, and some of the more glamorous markets (like that of the Los Angeles Lakers) would have to signal that they’re not interested. Second, the top-10 pick the Mavericks just blatantly tanked to preserve (if it winds up outside the top 10, it goes to the New York Knicks) would have to indeed stay in Dallas.
If those two boxes were checked, a sign-and-trade sending Kyrie to Atlanta would give the Hawks a superstar guard with far more experience playing off the ball. As was said with Herro and LaVine, he’d be a more natural fit with Murray. And new Hawks coach Quin Snyder has plenty of experience getting the most out of a combo guard (Donovan Mitchell made three All-Star teams under his tutelage).
For the Mavericks, this would represent an even bigger gamble than the Irving trade. And considering the fact that they already gave up a first to get him, this deal would ultimately feel like Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and two firsts for Young.
A deal of this caliber would completely shake up the league, pairing two of the best young guards in the league together.
Luka Doncic Sounds Off on Kyrie Irving
However, as the offseason inches closer, it seems as though Luka Doncic would like to keep Irving around. When asked about their partnership, he said that he thinks it’s a good fit.
“I mean, yeah. I think it’s a great fit,” Doncic said via the Mavs Fans For Life YouTube Channel. “Obviously, people are going to say no. I mean, I look at the results we’re having, but you know, like I said, chemistry and relationships take time. I wish he can still be here.”
Mavericks Have Big Offseason Trade Plans
In addition, even if the Mavericks choose to keep Irving, they’ll still be active in the trade market. According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line newsletter, Dallas plans on shopping their first-round pick, which could land in the top 10.
“Retaining this June’s pick would provide a crucial potential path to a quality player for a club low on trade chips or the salary-cap flexibility to make significant changes around [Luka] Doncic and [Kyrie] Irving,” Stein wrote. “Sources say that the Mavericks plan to explore trade prospects with the pick if they retain it to potentially seek more win-now talent.”
