TRADE: DM to CLE | Markkanen + Sexton + Agbaji + 3 1sts + 2 swaps to UTA

[F Gump]

Since they can't even access that pick package until after the first year of Luka's deal, I'm not super hopeful about the window of this plan. 

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All I'm saying is that weighing all of the permutations above, really thinking about where they could lead, smaller deals involving fewer picks that will come and go more quickly and not totally cripple the franchise for 5 years at a time start to seem preferable, at least to me.

Where they are is where they are. The timing on their window for "next Big Trade" is not great, but their past errors in FO-ing and unlucky lottery balls landed them where they are. DSJ was a bad draft choice, leading to KP as a swing-and-a-miss (they could have had players like Adebayo or Collins or Mitchell instead of DSJ), and they are about to have a clean slate to try again.

While in theory you may have some good points, I think what you see as "preferable" is something they would see as undisciplined re the road to where they want to be (to get that clean slate and be able to try again), and perhaps rightly so.

Re trading picks past Luka's contract, there are several valid counter-arguments to that "problem."
1st, they would be making a trade to persuade Luka to stay, and feel such a swap would be more likely to make that happen. In which case, none of the picks would last beyond Luka's tenure in Dallas, since he will be going nowhere.
2nd, Luka has never given any negative vibes about being here. He's the oppo-Lebron/KD mindset, basically.
3rd, the contractual rules favor Luka signing the next contract with the Mavs. Big diff in money.
4th, if Luka wanted to leave eventually, Mavs would trade him for a fortune to someone, and hopefully reload around Big Trade target they get (instead of being sucky and landing in the lottery with top draft slots).
5th while having 4 unprotected and 3 swaps would be enough ammo, there's nothing to prevent them from trading fewer than ALL, and in fact I wouldn't expect they would trade ALL. Or, they might trade one or more of them WITH some protection, in the same way they did when trading for KP where the only unprotected pick was during a time sure to have Luka still here.