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A new trade proposal would land the Dallas Mavericks a $132 million star for Christian Wood and Josh Green.
Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report proposed that the Mavericks trade Wood, Green and JaVale McGee to the Phoenix Suns for Deandre Ayton.
“A shaky center position in Dallas only gets worse as both Wood and Dwight Powell now become free agents,” Swartz wrote. “Getting Ayton, who was selected two picks ahead of Luka Doncic in 2018, would give the Mavs another franchise centerpiece who’s still only 24 and under contract for the next three seasons.
“Ayton put up 18.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and shot 58.9 percent overall this season and has become a solid defender who still carries some three-point shooting potential. Wood is capable of starting at power forward or center, giving Phoenix yet another offensive weapon to take the pressure off Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. McGee thrived during his previous stop with the Suns as a backup center and Green is a good, young 3-and-D piece to place between the stars.”
Ayton has the same agent (Bill Duffy) as Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic. The big man would be “excited” to get traded by the Suns this summer, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
The Suns, who lost to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals in six games, are expected to aggressively explore the trade market for Ayton, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft out of Arizona.
NBA Sources Expect the Mavericks to Be a Likely Destination for Deandre Ayton
If Ayton gets traded by the Suns this summer, many people around the NBA believe the center will land with the Mavericks.
According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, multiple NBA sources expect Dallas to be a likely destination for Ayton.
“More than one NBA source said they expect Dallas to be a likely destination for Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton,” Pincus wrote. “(Luka) Doncic and Ayton share an agent (Bill Duffy of WME Sports) and are said to have a good relationship.”
Ayton tried to leave the Suns last offseason by signing a four-year, $132.9 million offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers in restricted free agency. However, Phoenix matched Indiana’s offer sheet. The Arizona product averaged 18.0 points and 10.0 rebounds this season, but his numbers plunged in the postseason to 13.4 points and 9.7 rebounds.
Ayton put up 10.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in the Nuggets series and didn’t register a positive plus-minus rating in any game. He didn’t play in Game 6 due to an injury.
Kyrie Irving Is Trying to Get LeBron James
Kyrie Irving has reached out to Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James to gauge whether he might be interested in joining him on the Mavericks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
Irving becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.
James and Irving were teammates for three seasons on the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2014-15 to 2016-16. The two All-Stars led the Cavaliers to the 2016 championship over the Golden State Warriors in seven games.
The Mavericks would be title contenders with Irving, James and Doncic leading the way. However, the odds of LeBron coming to Dallas are low.
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