Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[Dundalis]

I am having trouble finding the move  that helps the team fit better next year while also helping the push for the next several years.  I have no idea how they make things work if they do not make a move.   Maybe I am thinking about too big of a move and need to think lesser.  I think we are a far way away from being a contender, but I think things could move faster if a lot of "ifs' turn into "yes'.   Such as Cooper following the super star track where things tend to happen faster, Kyrie returning to a top 50 player, Lively and Morez being elite level role players, Some of their wings find a home here, etc.

I have been thinking lately that Masai's timeline may be faster than we think.   With the moves they made this summer, I think PJ/Gaff/Marshall, etc may be the trade pieces they use to get a running mate for Cooper and not used to just balance out the roster.  I just am not sure who that player is.   If feels like they would be light for Trey Murphy trade discussions.  Probably the same for Cason Wallace.    As we have seen this summer, a lot of all stars are being moved.    Maybe if "if' moves turn into "yes" than a more aggressive move could happen sooner than later.   I just don't know how it can work to start the season wtih the roster as is.  Not enough minutes in the front court.

In terms of running mate for Coop, or higher level starters, I feel like that type of move happens next summer. I think due to how asset poor we are, this summer is about getting in depreciated or undervalued assets, attempting to rebuild their value this season to where they hold a lot more value come TDL or next summer. Then we are in a better place asset wise to really go after the difference maker targets we want. Do still think there will be moves made before the season starts, but think it will be along the lines of more depreciated or undervalued assets, or draft capital.

[Chicagojk]

With the Sergio trade, the Aldama trade and the Rishacher trade Dallas has proven they can either bring teams together or work to be included in trades. May be something to consider when looking at another trade. It may not be as clear as we have been looking at with potential deals.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Thompson remains the Heat priority, even though there’s no indication when or if he will shake free from Dallas. The Mavericks, well below the luxury tax line, have no particular financial incentive to dump Thompson — who’s owed $17.5 million in the final year of a three-year contract — unless he’s willing to take a significant pay cut on a buyout. The Heat might end up needing that $8 million in exception money to bridge the gap with what he would be losing by taking a buyout with Dallas. Though the Heat has interest in DeRozan and appreciates his skills, at least one Heat official wants to be patient and wait out the market before making a move with one of the team’s three open roster spots, a source said. Heat president Pat Riley has said that decisions are made by the organization collectively, among several people. DeRozan has interest in the Heat, but he has other suitors and Miami must determine quickly whether they will move forward with any offer involving at least some of the Heat’s remaining $8 million in exception money. Several teams have inquired about DeRozan, including teams with exception money available. So, DeRozan doesn’t really need to sign at the minimum anywhere, at this point, and doesn’t need to wait weeks for the Heat, either.

Miami Herald

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Thats fine. Just give us a FRP.

Klay doesn't justify a 1st round pick at this stage of his career. c'mon..

[FireNicoHarrison]

So he will play for the Dallas Mavericks next year... No problem.

Of course it's difficult a FRP but no way we will make gift. This time is over.

[loki]

If Klay is sought by Miami as rumored, then he has some trade value. Dallas is under no pressure to dump him.  It’s up to the Heat to find partners and parameters for a trade.

There's a big difference between wanting Klay on a near minimum and wanting him at $17M. Miami would certainly give up Jovic for him, who is an even bigger negative.

[DanSchwartzgan]

With the Sergio trade, the Aldama trade and the Rishacher trade Dallas has proven they can either bring teams together or work to be included in trades.  May be something to consider when looking at another trade.  It may not be as clear as we have been looking at with potential deals.

Good point. 

If you look at alternatives that involving Klay for Jovic, I think Jovic makes much more sense in Portland than PJ does.  I get that we want to build out a 25-and-under team with the addition of a young guard, but if you look at Portland's depth chart, Gafford makes zero sense for them.  What would work is sending Jovic and Caleb Martin for Jrue.  It gives them a bench unit of Scoot, Sharpe, Martin, Jovic and Robert Williams.

Meanwhile Jrue preserves out 2028 cap flexibility and gives us another winning veteran who can give Larry more time to develop before being thrown to the wolves.

[Mavs2021]

I wonder about Jokic and Jovic playing so well together for Serbia.

Johnson to Dallas (again expiring salary)
Thompson to Miami
Jovic to Denver

Miami gets their alleged target. Denver gets 7M in cap relief. Dallas gets another expiring. This bring us to the problem: Caleb Martin. Denver can´t take him, cause it destroys their trade purpose. Dallas can´t keep him, cause it destroys their trade purpose. Miami has no real reason to fill up their apron space with him either. So who pays to send Martin where?

I think the core deal is pretty easy to agree upon.

[Smitty]

Good point. 

If you look at alternatives that involving Klay for Jovic, I think Jovic makes much more sense in Portland than PJ does.  I get that we want to build out a 25-and-under team with the addition of a young guard, but if you look at Portland's depth chart, Gafford makes zero sense for them.  What would work is sending Jovic and Caleb Martin for Jrue.  It gives them a bench unit of Scoot, Sharpe, Martin, Jovic and Robert Williams.

Meanwhile Jrue preserves out 2028 cap flexibility and gives us another winning veteran who can give Larry more time to develop before being thrown to the wolves.

Perfectly acceptable version also. For the visual:

DAL: Holiday (+$7.3M)
POR: Jovic, Martin (-$8.6M)
MIA: Klay (+$1.3M)

Mavs stay ~$2.2M below the A1 hardcap. Get down to 15 players:

Kyrie | Sergio | Sasser
Jrue | Max | ZR
Flagg | Naji | Tarik
PJW | Morez | Aldama
Gafford | Lively | Cisse

It makes them better this year. I guess it depends on how you view the POR guards. My version was the younger, expensive guy. A lot like the Mathurin mold. Yours is the vet, plug n play guy. Both are worth talking about. Then there’s still Scoot…

[Mavs2021]

Good point. 

If you look at alternatives that involving Klay for Jovic, I think Jovic makes much more sense in Portland than PJ does.  I get that we want to build out a 25-and-under team with the addition of a young guard, but if you look at Portland's depth chart, Gafford makes zero sense for them.  What would work is sending Jovic and Caleb Martin for Jrue.  It gives them a bench unit of Scoot, Sharpe, Martin, Jovic and Robert Williams.

Meanwhile Jrue preserves out 2028 cap flexibility and gives us another winning veteran who can give Larry more time to develop before being thrown to the wolves.

I have heard this Holiday narrative pushed so many times, but that simply ain´t happening for so many reasons beyond the U25 rule.  

One thing the Mavs never paid attention to under Cuban is re-trade value. All the Mavs moves so far have been designed around re-trade potential and max cap space threats in 2027 and 2028. Holiday basically kills all of that for what purpose? Holiday played 53 games last year for a non-tanking team, so that´s 30 missed games due to injury at age 36. He takes developmental minutes from the young players.

If necessary the Mavs can release Aldama, Risacher, Biberovic, let Lively go and Christie will certainly opt out next summer. That takes them to about 75M in committed salary, if Kyrie opts out to form a new big three. That is a viable max cap space threat. Now say some of the Mavs young players shine in their expanded roles next year. They become acceptable trade assets for the engaging party that risks losing their superstar for nothing. BUT this all falls apart with the acquisition of a Jrue Holiday sized contract.

Masai and Schmitz clearly working multiple strategies here and beyond the classic young players rebuild, they want to be build a team that is enticing to potential superstars (hence keeping Kyrie alongside Flagg), but also has the necessary cap space threat and assets to execute it at any time (hence no Holiday). If you want a veteran guard look at expiring deals like Lavine.

[Smitty]

Lavine is tougher to trade match with. Monk has a PO next year, but is a cleaner trade option in this “find a 3rd team for Jovic” deal.

DAL: Monk (+$2.7M)
SAC: Jovic (-$4.0M)
MIA: Klay (+$1.3M)

Dallas gets some draft compensation of some sort?

[Scott41theMavs]

Lavine is tougher to trade match with. Monk has a PO next year, but is a cleaner trade option in this “find a 3rd team for Jovic” deal.

DAL: Monk (+$2.7M)
SAC: Jovic (-$4.0M)
MIA: Klay (+$1.3M)

Dallas gets some draft compensation of some sort?

Would do.

The problem with trading Klay for a usable, non-expiring player is that it still leaves the Mavs with no room for Cisse, let alone Seva. To me, the options are 1) send Klay out along with another Mav in a multi team deal that only nets one player, 2) trade Klay in a deal that results in draft picks coming back and no new players, or 3) just cut him outright. If they do option four and trade him for an expiring, that guy also is likely to be waived/bought out, whoever he is. Or, option five, if Klay is done for a one-for-one non-expiring player, make another deal which is two for one.

Re: the “just waive Cisse” argument, which I haven’t seen here but is out there - hell to the no; that renders the Mavs unable to trade Gafford (since this isn’t a tank year).

[Scott41theMavs]

On a side note, let’s say the Mavs managed before camp to do trades that cleared two roster spots. I would expect the prior regimes to resign Powell instead of Seva. If M&M were to do that, I might Tommen myself.

[F Gump]

Perfectly acceptable version also. For the visual:

DAL: Holiday (+$7.3M)
POR: Jovic, Martin (-$8.6M)
MIA: Klay (+$1.3M)

Mavs stay ~$2.2M below the A1 hardcap. Get down to 15 players:

NOT acceptable. Limit is almost certain to be the tax line, not A1.

[Scott41theMavs]

NOT acceptable. Limit is almost certain to be the tax line, not A1.

All appreciation your way for what you do here, FGump, but with  all due respect, your speculations are not necessarily M&M’s rules.

[omahen]

Looks like Kuminga and his agent screwed up again. FA money has dried up. Cleveland went for Hezonja and is now less likely to pursue Kuminga.

Kuminga can realistically only get paid through SnT. However, SnT requires a three year deal and no one is giving Kuminga 20+ per for three years and Kuminga is not enthusiastic to sign a small deal for three years. All this than gets further complicated by Atlanta side of things.

Atlanta is only 5 mil under the tax line which they are unlikely to cross. They also have 17 players on the roster already. So it is not realistic to expect Atlanta would be taking back serious salary. Neither will they offer Kuminga serious salary if they want to keep him. Milwaukee, who was also rumored to be interested, also has 17 players on the roster and is only 8 mil below the tax line. So realistically most of the deals would need to be sending salary to a third team to offer Kuminga anything north of 10 mil.

Lakers could have a path that would make sense for both teams. Atlanta has a bad Hield contract (a bit under 10 mil per for two years), who is redundant after they traded for Kispert. Lakers could send Vando to Atlanta (26 mil over 2 years) for Hield (20 mil over two years) and include Kuminga SnT up to 11.5 mil in first year. Atlanta only eats 6 mil of additional money over two years and stays below tax. Poor assets Lakers have would be enough to compensate that difference. Atlanta could use Vando more than Buddy and Lakers could use Buddy more than Vando.

[KillerLeft]

I personally would be SHOCKED if the Mavs chose to pay tax this season. They have so many decisions to make on extensions coming up, and it would be insane (imo) to start the clock on the repeater tax with a team they don’t even really have proof of concept with yet.

I suppose all that counts is how much salary they have after the trade deadline, but I don’t think they’ll get that cute with it.

Frankly, I hope they can find a way to get through NEXT season without paying tax, even, but a lot could happen to change my mind about that.

[Smitty]

I personally would be SHOCKED if the Mavs chose to pay tax this season. They have so many decisions to make on extensions coming up, and it would be insane (imo) to start the clock on the repeater tax with a team they don’t even really have proof of concept with yet.

I suppose all that counts is how much salary they have after the trade deadline, but I don’t think they’ll get that cute with it.

Frankly, I hope they can find a way to get through NEXT season without paying tax, even, but a lot could happen to change my mind about that.

I don’t expect them to be taxpayers either. At least not when the league year ends. Starting out in the tax? Sure. Maybe. Still, Dumont has shown that money is not a barrier. Plus, the moves made last TDL already saved him ~$150M+. Not a bad place to be operating from a few months later.

[KillerLeft]

I don’t expect them to be taxpayers either. At least not when the league year ends. Starting out in the tax? Sure. Maybe. Still, Dumont has shown that money is not a barrier. Plus, the moves made last TDL already saved him ~$150M+. Not a bad place to be operating from a few months later.

Yeah, I mostly agree, and to be clear I don’t worry about the Adelsons avoiding the tax like Cuban did this past decade plus. I’m pretty confident they’ll pay it when they need to. I just think for team-building it’s helpful to put it off for as many seasons as possible.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Looks like Kuminga and his agent screwed up again. 

LMAO

I was thinking the same thing earlier.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1v...adipo_and/