Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[ACMFFL]

Please re-read my disclaimer in the initial post  I don't think this move is on the table. I was only discussing the value of role players on 20 per or higher contracts. 

While I do agree that that specific case seems light, I guess the argument the author made is not about this season. There are several positive outlooks, that have a lot to do with how you value the specific player and long-term situation:
- Mavs save huge money. If you see that contract as a negative, that is certainly a plus. It brings more flexibility moving forward. The saving doesn't help this season as it is not needed, but it does help in the future
- Mavs open minutes for other guys in their otherwise forward heavy line-up. This would help improve their value. As currently constructed, Mavs would have a sort of imbalance on the roster, that would result also in playing players out of their natural positions
- one could also argue, that PJ value will further decrease if Mavs decide to play Morez more at the four. It is not like PJ will be expiring after this season, he will still have 3 years left on his deal, will be a year older,...
- Pick swap is basically a lottery ticket. Who knows where Lakers and Mavs will be in 2032, totally subjective. Luka, if he is still on the team, will be 33 at that time. Flagg will be in his early prime. So one could hope that Mavs are much better than Lakers then. Perhaps you are lucky, and Lakers really suck. Teams like OKC with several lottery tickets like that, tend to hit on (some of) them on a regular basis. Of course you can also be more pesimistic and claim that Lakers are always good and their pick swap is worthless.

Yeah I get it but my whole point was Mavs have no interest at all in trading PJ at this current perceived value.

Maybe it's just me but I think author's main purpose was engagement farming, it's that period of the off-season after all. I mean he didn't even try to take Mavs side into account at all, but only the Lakers'.

-In reality, the Mavs don't need to shed future money; as things stand, projections place them $33 million below the 1st apron threshold for the 2027/28 season with 12 players under contracts. If they need to clear cap space to extend both Christie and Lively, they could trade Caleb and/or Gafford during the 2027 offseason and still have the NTMLE available. 

- I hate to repeat myself, but until Lively proves he’s 100% healthy, there will be minutes available for all the forwards in the rotation. Aldama isn't a natural center, but I think he could play the 5 alongside very physical defenders like PJ and Morez, thereby freeing up play time for the latter two at the 4.
I’d say they need to play in a winning environment to boost their value, and in that regard, PJ is a much better fit than the Lakers' benchwarmers.

- The 2032 pick swap could turn out to be completely worthless: it’s six years out, and there’s too much variance. OKC still had a young core when they facilitated the Gafford trade, but in that instance, the swap involved a pick just four years out. I’m not sure how many teams would be willing to give up a late-round pick in exchange for a swap so far in the future.
Furthermore, the Mavs aren't exactly well-positioned in terms of assets to bet on the Lakers struggling six years down the line; they need something more concrete and tangible.

I honestly don't see any reasonable point to move PJ at this lowest value .