Trade& Free Agency 2026/2027

[Mavs2021]

I think it´s time for the new season and since I have been on the "let´s wait and see what we got" bandwagon. 

Let´s start with a "teardown" version.




Trade 1:

Irving for Kuzma + Portis + #10 pick

 
Trade 2:

Gafford + Thompson for Cam Johnson + Valanciunas + Nuggets #26 pick + 1st round pick swap right with Nuggets in #2028


Trade 3:

TPE for Caruso + #12 pick

Trade 4:

#12 + #30 + remove 1/2 protection from Mavs 2027 pick for # 14 + #18

So we end up with

#8 pick
#10 pick
#14 pick
#18 pick
#26 pick



Using the updated https://www.rookiescale.com/2026-consensus-board/

I pick

#8 Mikael Brown Jr. (I have so many picks now, that I´ll take the upside risk as long as the prognosis isn´t too bad.)
#10 Brayden Burries (Between Ament, Lendebourg and Mara the probability that the Bulls would take a PF/C ain´t that bad.)
#14 Hannes Steinbach (I think he has deceptive prime Dirk athleticism, he runs the floor fast and hard.)
#18 Christian Anderson (Between Brown, Burries and Anderson I am stacked at guard now)
#26 Isaiah Evans (so let´s take another shooter)
#47 Trevon Brazile (elite athletic stats)

Remaining vets: Washington, Marshall, Johnson, Martin, Kuzma, Portis, Caruso. Only Washington and Caruso go beyond 2028.

Future rotation:

Brown (20)/ Anderson (20)
Burries (21) / Christie (23)
Flagg (20) / Evans (20)
Steinbach (20) /
Lively (22) / Brazile (23) /

Important to note that the Mavs will have +$50M of pure capspace from 2027/2028 moving forward, which also means $100M under the 1st apron.

If all goes reasonably well, in two years this Mavs team could be the current Spurs.

[RasheedsBigWhiteSpot]

Sorry, but the above is completely unrealistic...











...the Mavs will win the Lottery and take Dybantsa.

[ballsrchr]

Sorry, but the above is completely unrealistic...










...the Mavs will win the Lottery and take Dybantsa.

Ah yes...completely...optomistic.  A lot of pieces would have to fall the right way.

Brown Jr. worries me...is just one thing.

So...I would go with this totally realistic idea:

...the Mavs will win the Lottery and take Dybantsa.

[michaeltex]

Remaining vets: Washington, Marshall, Johnson, Martin, Kuzma, Portis, Caruso. Only Washington and Caruso go beyond 2028.

Totally unrealistic, but a fun thought experiment!

BTW, Flagg and Lively are vets now too. Even if they are still on rookie deals.

[SleepingHero]

Thank you for making a new thread. It's been difficult for me to be on the board basically since January. I hope I can go back to my normal schedule soon.

[SleepingHero]

NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral)
Gradey Dick is reportedly open to a trade from the Raptors, per @michaelgrange

[Mavs2021]

My Ujiri prediction.

Trades Gafford to Lakers for their 1st round pick + expiring contract
Trades TPE to Cleveland for 29th pick + Schroeder.

At the TDL threatens Milwaukee to outright sign Giannis in the summer, if Milwaukee doesn´t accept Klay, Schroeder, Martin and one unprotected 1st round pick.

New team

Irving/Burries
Christie/Evans
Flagg/Marshall/Swain
Giannis/Washington
Lively/Bagley

[Smitty]

From the OP, Trade #3 had me go down a rabbit hole. I know it's been mentioned a lot here, most recently by Dan, but I went through all the players '26-'27 salaries from $10M to $20,830,154 (TPE-AD) and jotted down some somewhat realistic TPE type trades with those players and the teams current draft picks this year:

Kuzma $20,345,152. MIL has #10.

Caruso $19,550,160 $20,998,320 $22,446,480. OKC has #12 & 17.

Poeltl $19,500,000 $27,300,000 $29,484,000 $27,300,000. TOR has #19.

Strus $16,660,836. CLE has #29.

D. Robinson $15,992,957 $15,151,222. DET has #21.

LeVert $14,809,200. DET has #21.

Schroder $14,809,200  $15,514,400. CLE has #29.

Josh Green $14,679,012. CHA has #14 & 18.

G. Williams $14,265,750. CHA has #14 & 18.

Z. Risacher $13,826,040 $17,434,637. ATL has #23.

Moody $12,500,000 $13,425,925. GSW has #11.


Some of these are expiring and I don't know the financial situation of every team off the top of my head, so hard to know the motivation for any of these kinds of deals. Plus, any salary that fits in the NTMLE can be done with teams that have that exception. At first glance, the ones that stand out are:

Caruso for #17
Poeltl for #19, plus a future pick?
One of the CLE guys for #29
One of the DET guys for #21
One of the CHA guys for #18

[mvossman]

My Ujiri prediction.

Trades Gafford to Lakers for their 1st round pick + expiring contract
Trades TPE to Cleveland for 29th pick + Schroeder.

At the TDL threatens Milwaukee to outright sign Giannis in the summer, if Milwaukee doesn´t accept Klay, Schroeder, Martin and one unprotected 1st round pick.

New team

Irving/Burries
Christie/Evans
Flagg/Marshall/Swain
Giannis/Washington
Lively/Bagley

Guess we are sticking with crazy.

[DanSchwartzgan]

From the OP, Trade #3 had me go down a rabbit hole. I know it's been mentioned a lot here, most recently by Dan, but I went through all the players '26-'27 salaries from $10M to $20,830,154 (TPE-AD) and jotted down some somewhat realistic TPE type trades with those players and the teams current draft picks this year:

Kuzma $20,345,152. MIL has #10.

Caruso $19,550,160 $20,998,320 $22,446,480. OKC has #12 & 17.

Poeltl $19,500,000 $27,300,000 $29,484,000 $27,300,000. TOR has #19.

Strus $16,660,836. CLE has #29.

D. Robinson $15,992,957 $15,151,222. DET has #21.

LeVert $14,809,200. DET has #21.

Schroder $14,809,200  $15,514,400. CLE has #29.

Josh Green $14,679,012. CHA has #14 & 18.

G. Williams $14,265,750. CHA has #14 & 18.

Z. Risacher $13,826,040 $17,434,637. ATL has #23.

Moody $12,500,000 $13,425,925. GSW has #11.


Some of these are expiring and I don't know the financial situation of every team off the top of my head, so hard to know the motivation for any of these kinds of deals. Plus, any salary that fits in the NTMLE can be done with teams that have that exception. At first glance, the ones that stand out are:

Caruso for #17
Poeltl for #19, plus a future pick?
One of the CLE guys for #29
One of the DET guys for #21
One of the CHA guys for #18

There used to be an unwritten rule of thumb that a later first was worth about $20mm in savings FWIW.  That's not $20mm per year, it is $20mm.  So, the multi-year guys probably don't work except maybe Risacher as an upside "swing".  

Pure dump's for picks are pretty rare.  It goes better if you can convince the fans there is an asset to be had as part of all the financial engineering.  It can happen at the draft (Holmes and #24 for the TPE we got for trading down with OKC).  That space was used by the Kings to extend Sabonis...so instant payoff.  Or, it can be used to get under an apron or free up a larger exception or create extra cap room.  Sometimes that's at the draft and sometimes in July using a future pick.

I think the next test of your theory is looking at the potential partners and figuring out the practical use of moving off of the player in a tangible way.

[Mavs2021]

Guess we are sticking with crazy.

Same crazy as the Knicks don´t have cap space to sign Brunson outright and then it appeared within 24 hours.

Mavs can easily generate max cap space next summer by trading away Washington and Gafford.

Giannis has a player option for 2027/2028. Kyrie has a player option for 2027/2028. Heck Christie has a player option, he certainly exercise. He can be used as a positive trade asset, if necessary.

That leaves

Kyrie 25 (restructured)
Flagg 15
Draft picks 15
Martin 10

Heck they could attach an asset and trade Martin to keep the Lively/Christie cap holds and still have 90M in cap space.

The cap space threat is more than legit and that´s all you need these days.

I´d even go as far as Ujiri was already behind the Washington trade. Cap space (threat) is a much more powerful tool for a smart GM than some average players.

It is worth noting that Masai Ujiri has an incredibly strong bond and relationship with several players around the league, including Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard.

[Chicagojk]

Not saying this is remotely possible, but it is the Mavs offseason.   If the Mavs got pick #8, would you offer it with another first and a mix of PJ/Gaff/and/or Klay for Paolo?  Paolo had a pretty rough season but is still 23 and was viewed as a potential top 10 player.  Pairing him with Coop's timeline you would have in theory two bigger, more physical Boston wings.

[mvossman]

Same crazy as the Knicks don´t have cap space to sign Brunson outright and then it appeared within 24 hours.

Mavs can easily generate max cap space next summer by trading away Washington and Gafford.

Giannis has a player option for 2027/2028. Kyrie has a player option for 2027/2028. Heck Christie has a player option, he certainly exercise. He can be used as a positive trade asset, if necessary.

That leaves

Kyrie 25 (restructured)
Flagg 15
Draft picks 15
Martin 10

Heck they could attach an asset and trade Martin to keep the Lively/Christie cap holds and still have 90M in cap space.

The cap space threat is more than legit and that´s all you need these days.

I´d even go as far as Ujiri was already behind the Washington trade. Cap space (threat) is a much more powerful tool for a smart GM than some average players.

It is worth noting that Masai Ujiri has an incredibly strong bond and relationship with several players around the league, including Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard.

If Giannis gets traded it's going to be for more than expirings and a single first.

[mvossman]

Not saying this is remotely possible, but it is the Mavs offseason.   If the Mavs got pick #8, would you offer it with another first and a mix of PJ/Gaff/and/or Klay for Paolo?  Paolo had a pretty rough season but is still 23 and was viewed as a potential top 10 player.  Pairing him with Coop's timeline you would have in theory two bigger, more physical Boston wings.

My answer would be no.  Not a fan of the player and don't think he will sniff top 10.  Don't think he is a Ujiri type player either.

[Mavs2021]

If Giannis gets traded it's going to be for more than expirings and a single first.

The only leverage Milwaukee has is the age of Giannis/Kyrie and that they´d waste the 2026/2027 by not agreeing to a deal. From all reports Giannis and Ujiri are very tight as they both grew up in Europe as Nigerian immigrants from humble beginnings. They are virtually from the same tribe too. 

I think it´s pretty reasonable that Giannis could pick the Mavs as his next team. Nobody is trading for him, if they know he´ll just walk in the 2027 summer and the Mavs have the cap space to make it happen. It´s not like we don´t have any assets either.

[dirkfansince1998]

Someone to keep an eye on due to the Ujiri connection. Immanuel Quickley. Part of the Raptors/Knicks deal that featured Anunoby and Barrett. Ujiri resigned him for 5/162m. Good player. Terrible contract.

[Mavs2021]

My answer would be no.  Not a fan of the player and don't think he will sniff top 10.  Don't think he is a Ujiri type player either.

That I agree on. Ujiri would probably trade for Franz first. 

That being said, Banchero playsingstupid ball, might partly be blamed on Mosley. Part of his problems might be offensive schemes, but personal fitness might be another. As a result he just settles for dumb shots.

I would not trade either Banchero or Wagner, until I have seen them with a better offensive coach. Mosley has been a pretty big disappointment. He´s like a deer in the headlights during the game, completely frozen. Probably a great assistant for chemistry, video scouting and preparation, but you don´t want him to make (no) decisions with your ass on the line.

[Smitty]

I think the next test of your theory is looking at the potential partners and figuring out the practical use of moving off of the player in a tangible way.

Yeah. The Caruso angle has been talked about a lot already. OKC has a financial crunch and very little need for 2-3 more rookie first rounders outside the lottery.

The Cleveland one is the Lebron rumor. They are also dealing with Apron issues and may want to add Lebron to the mix as well. 
Pick #29 doesn't move me all that much, but I'd probably do it for an expiring Strus. Try to package 29 & 30 to move up and secure my guy. Which for me would be I. Evans, but it could be any number of guys they deem worthy of going up for.

Raptors will be up against the Tax and stuck with their current team. Sending #19 and a future first gives them a lot more current and future flexibility. There's the Masai connection there also. Mavs do it to get more assets..

I'd need to dive into the DET and CHA ones more. Idk why those two stood out to me at first glance.

[Mavs2021]

Someone to keep an eye on due to the Ujiri connection. Immanuel Quickley. Part of the Raptors/Knicks deal that featured Anunoby and Barrett. Ujiri resigned him for 5/162m. Good player. Terrible contract.

I´d hold Poeltl much more against him. Not unreasonable that the Raptors with Ingram and Quickley come out of the East.

[dirkfansince1998]

I´d hold Poeltl much more against him. Not unreasonable that the Raptors with Ingram and Quickley come out of the East.

Question is if the Raptors are happy with Quickley and his contract. Would they prefer two years of Kyrie over him if it increases their chances to come out of a pretty mediocre east? What would they be willing to give up in exchange?