Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[Scott41theMavs]

1 I still think Ishchenko will get stashed, not 2-way, but I accept a change possible if he dazzles in SL. 
2 Otherwise, I think the 2-ways will be Cisse, Lawal, Poulakidis. 
3 We gotta keep in mind that the 2-ways are now intended to be an extended roster, so at what position are they most likely to need some minutes (if the player is good enough)?
4 Every year we dream of 2-for-1's to solve a roster crunch and fit in another player, but reality is that half the league is hoping to do the same. The team who will do that for you is really hard to find.
5 If they want to get another roster spot, Martin needs to be traded. What a Nico blunder. 
6 There are many overlapping parts on this roster, so I can see the potential for another trade of some sort ...
7 ... but I'm not really expecting one. I see lineups that feature Flagg, Kyrie, and then massive competition everywhere else for minutes.

Going with the current roster would be an interesting gonzo, out-of-the-box M&M move, but it's not what virtually any other trying-to-win-and-develop-young-players-in-the-context-of-a-properly-constructed-roster FO would do. As has been pointed out many times by KL and as many other times by several other posters combined, this team is weak in creational guard play - unless Sergio quite literally is one of the five most NBA-ready players in this draft. They could stand to shed one, if not two, of the frontcourt guys, and need to add a guard. I just really have to squint to see more than two of Gafford, Naji, PJW, Klay, and Martin fitting here this fall. Three, presuming that Ishchenko is two-wayed or stashed. Re: Ishchenko stashing - there are others who don't think he even steps foot in the US as he has, given the international situation, if he had any intentions of returning home, and trying to stash him might burn that bridge pretty completely if "successful."