Massive proposed trade sees Mavericks add rising East star
The Dallas Mavericks could acquire a major Eastern Conference standout in a bold new trade proposal.
Dallas has gone through some bonkers roster turnover this year. Near the 2025 midseason trade deadline, the Mavericks shipped out five-time All-NBA First Team guard Luka Doncic — fresh off a 2024 NBA Finals appearance — plus big men Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for 10-time All-Star center/power forward Anthony Davis, 3-and-D swingman Max Christie, and a single first-round draft pick in 2029.
Both sides also sent 2025 second-rounders to the future draft pick-loving Utah Jazz so that L.A. could dump the contract of guard Jalen Hood-Schifino.
Dallas Could Reset Guard Timeline with New Deal
The Mavericks didn't stop there, however. When overextended nine-time All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving tore his ACL playing big minutes post-Doncic, and Davis suffered his annual ailment, Dallas fell out of contention and into the lottery.
Through sheer dumb lottery luck, the Mavericks stumbled into the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, which they used on blue-chip Duke prospect Cooper Flagg.
MORE NEWS:Former Mavericks governor Mark Cuban reveals why he might run for president in 2028
Now, 18-year-old Flagg is saddled with three pricey future Hall of Famers aged 32 or older in Irving, Davis and Klay Thompson. Davis and Irving remain All-Stars, when healthy, although Thompson is in a different stage of his career after a litany of injuries.
Could Dallas look to retool a roster mostly built around Doncic to better fit Flagg's timeline?
On his "Game Theory Podcast" recently, The Athletic's Sam Vecenie bandied about a possible trade with colleague Bryce Simon that could see Dallas adding some young playmaking and scoring in the backcourt.
Vecenie and Simon proposed that the Mavericks offload athletic power forward P.J. Washington, now feeling the squeeze of a crowded and pricey frontcourt, to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for combo guard Jaden Ivey. The 6-foot-4 vet, still just 23, was en route to a career season in 2024-25 before breaking his fibula on January 1.
Ivey's fit alongside All-NBA breakout point guard Cade Cunningham has long been questioned, and the Pistons seemed to thrive without him, finishing with a 44-38 record and pushing the New York Knicks to six games in a hard-fought first round series.
In 30 healthy games last year, Ivey averaged a career-most 17.6 points on .460/.409/.733 shooting splits, 4.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 0.9 steals a night.
MORE NEWS:Mavericks named as top threat to NBA champions by controversial analyst
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