Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[Winter]

Probably hetting ahead of myself here, but I’m thinking the Two-Way guys will be: Poulakidas, Lawal, Cisse. 

Ishchenko is the odd man out there? Tyler Smith also not back next year.

What do you think?

I would say Lawal is borderline, but I agree Ishchenko is the most unlikely. I'd say odd man out is one of those two - Lawal and Ish.

[mvossman]

Thinking through the roster and how I view each players role and where they fit on a made up depth chart.

Kyrie is an All-star. PG1 or SG1. Simple. 

Max is a fringe starter on a good team. SG/SF. If he’s your 5th guy, it’s not a problem. 

Flagg, superstar, is and always will be a 3, that can play 1-2-4-5. Basketball player. Put him wherever you want on a depth chart.

PJ is a very good starter. A 4 that can play the 3 and also some 5. Can be the POA defender in certain matchups.

Gafford. Starting caliber 5. Doesn’t play starter minutes. More like a platoon guy. Innings eater. Tone setter.

Sasser and Nemby might be closer to PG3/PG4 guys on a good team.

Klay can still help a team. 16-20 minutes shooter off the bench. Can pencil him at the 2 or 3.

Sergio is a 3rd Guard from what I’ve seen so far, could be more. Can pencil him in at 1, 2, and probably the 3, given his size and off-ball skills.

Naji is a bench Wing. Can put him in 1-4 if you want to but pretty much the ideal backup 3 on a good team that has plenty of shooters.

Martin is a VetMin guy that provides defense off the bench. Situational type player. Offense for defense sub. Makes too much for the role, but not unplayable. 2-3-4.

Aldama and Morez are 4-5 guys. One’s a stretch Big the other is a versatile defender type. Both backup roles for now, with room to grow.

Lively is a bench Big. 14-16 mpg guy. Starter level impact, bench level role, for reinjury risk reasons. 


All that said, I think they’re missing a real PG2 type. Relying on a combination of Sasser/Nemby/Sergio when Kyrie is out of the game or gets injured is signaling to me that the real backup plan is more Flagg and Naji running things. Maybe that’s the plan, and simply adding more shooting is the way they’ll go, but I’m still on the Moar Guards train.

Right now there are two rotational level players on this roster that you would want initiating offense, Flagg and Kyrie.  There is only one true PG on the roster in Nemby, and he is a third string kind of player.  Its kind of crazy.  They already let reasonably priced 6th men go by.  I'm not really sure what the plan is, but if there is not a significant roster move we will be seeing a lot of Flagg at the 1.

[dirkfansince1998]

Patience...We are still waiting for players like LBJ or Duren to make a decision. The veteran role player trade market hasn't really opened yet.

[mvossman]

Patience...We are still waiting for players like LBJ or Duren to make a decision. The veteran role player trade market hasn't really opened yet.

Is there a veteran role player free agent that can initiate offense the Mavs might be targeting?  I'm not seeing a lot out there.

[Chicagojk]

I have really liked the moves so far. I am sure not all will work out. I haven’t even done a deep dive on Johnson yet and that draft pick surprised me. I just think all the picks and trades have some excitement to me.

I agree the roster is not ideal now with the lack of creation but I think at this time finding guys they like is more important than fit. I think things will balance out eventually and when they do they will have also added “their guys”.

I don’t think the Russian is a two way candidate yet. Things could change and we will see how he looks. I think the best place for him is in a higher league where he can continue to grow.

[Scott41theMavs]

Right now there are two rotational level players on this roster that you would want initiating offense, Flagg and Kyrie.  There is only one true PG on the roster in Nemby, and he is a third string kind of player.  Its kind of crazy.  They already let reasonably priced 6th men go by.  I'm not really sure what the plan is, but if there is not a significant roster move we will be seeing a lot of Flagg at the 1.

Brother, I know we’ve suffered through Sonju, Zaccanelli, Cuban, Donnie, and especially Nico, but to be honest, while PTSD might explain your reaction to this situation, you are way too smart of a basketball fan for this. Give M&M the gigantic benefit of the doubt they deserve. They know what they’re doing, certainly more than anyone who posts on this board.

[Scott41theMavs]

Is there a veteran role player free agent that can initiate offense the Mavs might be targeting?  I'm not seeing a lot out there.

He said “trades.” They aren’t getting much of anything in the free agent market, especially with part of the MLE eaten up. It will be by balancing out the roster with trades.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Another team with widely reported interest, the Trail Blazers, similarly did not join the chase. A Blazers team source said the Blazers were never enamored with Brown, even before Boston made it known he was available on the trade market. Two factors went into the Blazers’ disinterest: Their analytics viewed him as a negative player and the Celtics’ asking price was too high. “We were never aggressively looking to trade for him,” a team source said. “And particularly not at their price.” The cool market suggested the existence of a significant gap between the general perception of Brown, who finished sixth in MVP voting this season, and the way he is seen within the NBA. Though the idea of him being viewed as the seventh-best player on a given team was widely mocked, a recent report that one front-office member saw Brown in that way illuminated the reality that advanced analytics never shined too brightly on Brown’s game. Even more pointedly, a current general manager, speaking anonymously to comment on internal team discussions, told The Athletic in the wake of the trade that he doesn’t view Brown as a top-50 player in the NBA.



New York Times

Wow. How the mighty have fallen.

[Scott41theMavs]

I would say Lawal is borderline, but I agree Ishchenko is the most unlikely. I'd say odd man out is one of those two - Lawal and Ish.

Nah. Klay will be traded for picks or bought out, or there will be a two-for-one. 

Not sure I understand what the issue is with bringing over Ishchenko. Something to do with the war?

[mvossman]

He said “trades.” They aren’t getting much of anything in the free agent market, especially with part of the MLE eaten up. It will be by balancing out the roster with trades.

Yeah, totally read that wrong.

[Winter]

Nah. Klay will be traded for picks or bought out, or there will be a two-for-one. 

Not sure I understand what the issue is with bringing over Ishchenko. Something to do with the war?

Well that wasn't an option for me to choose, so Klay exiting would be good with me too.

I'm not sure there is an issue with Ish coming over. Is there one?

[Scott41theMavs]

Well that wasn't an option for me to choose, so Klay exiting would be good with me too.

I'm not sure there is an issue with Ish coming over. Is there one?

Some have mentioned in the board or discord how they either read something that makes them feel doubtful, or that they believe he’s a draft and stash of some kind on an informed basis. But I’m not informed, and want to be, which is why I asked.

[mvossman]

Brother, I know we’ve suffered through Sonju, Zaccanelli, Cuban, Donnie, and especially Nico, but to be honest, while PTSD might explain your reaction to this situation, you are way too smart of a basketball fan for this. Give M&M the gigantic benefit of the doubt they deserve. They know what they’re doing, certainly more than anyone who posts on this board.

I recognize there is plenty of offseason left, but it takes two to tango.  Who knows if the right player is available, and the cost may end up being prohibitive.  Unless they have something lined up (which you would think would have been executed by now) it seems like kind of winging it.  I'm sure there is an element of PTSD here.  So many seasons where we have said this can't be it, and it ends up being it.  I hope to be pleasantly surprised.

[Mavs2021]

Another team with widely reported interest, the Trail Blazers, similarly did not join the chase. A Blazers team source said the Blazers were never enamored with Brown, even before Boston made it known he was available on the trade market. Two factors went into the Blazers’ disinterest: Their analytics viewed him as a negative player and the Celtics’ asking price was too high. “We were never aggressively looking to trade for him,” a team source said. “And particularly not at their price.”  The cool market suggested the existence of a significant gap between the general perception of Brown, who finished sixth in MVP voting this season, and the way he is seen within the NBA. Though the idea of him being viewed as the seventh-best player on a given team was widely mocked, a recent report that one front-office member saw Brown in that way illuminated the reality that advanced analytics never shined too brightly on Brown’s game. Even more pointedly, a current general manager, speaking anonymously to comment on internal team discussions, told The Athletic in the wake of the trade that he doesn’t view Brown as a top-50 player in the NBA.



New York Times

Wow. How the mighty have fallen.

I wouldn´t want that dumb sh*t on my public resume either or to give my owner a reason to fire me on the spot.  And that also proves you should never sell yourself short and believe you don´t know more about basketball than some high-ranking NBA officials. The Blazers have won more games than Jaylen Brown last year, once in the last 35 years, but I guess their analytics department thinks Queta, Pritchard and Hauser did it. 

[DallasMaverick]

Right now there are two rotational level players on this roster that you would want initiating offense, Flagg and Kyrie.  There is only one true PG on the roster in Nemby, and he is a third string kind of player.  Its kind of crazy.  They already let reasonably priced 6th men go by.  I'm not really sure what the plan is, but if there is not a significant roster move we will be seeing a lot of Flagg at the 1.

Naji?

[Scott41theMavs]

I recognize there is plenty of offseason left, but it takes two to tango.  Who knows if the right player is available, and the cost may end up being prohibitive.  Unless they have something lined up (which you would think would have been executed by now) it seems like kind of winging it.  I'm sure there is an element of PTSD here.  So many seasons where we have said this can't be it, and it ends up being it.  I hope to be pleasantly surprised.

Even if they “screw up” the off-season by ending up fielding a team without much creation, for the very reasons you say, who’s to blame for that? Some folks are still ready to lynch then for Morez over Burries, but although the latter might have solved some of the major issues to a small or large degree, they obviously saw some sort of greater star potential or impact in MoJo which merited choosing him over Burries in their frankly expert minds. But the ludicrousness of this setup - trade away all your draft picks to build around your superstar, then trade him away for what amounts to a young marginal rotation player and a couple of draft picks - is not their fault. They have one strategy at their disposal to raise the talent quotient - find diamonds in the rough and turn them into something ranging from rotation players to stars, and then sell very, very high to get the players you will need. It will be a lengthy process. Hard to see how a Kyrie trade at the deadline wouldn’t quintessentially be a part of that given that it would take multiple basketball miracles for them to field a contender while he’s still useful.

[windjc]

Why does everyone want to get rid of Klay?? All I hear is we need better floor spacing and better outside shooting. And that we should get rid of Klay.

[mvossman]

Naji?

In my mind he is more of a secondary creator than a lead ball handler.

[windjc]

In my mind he is more of a secondary creator than a lead ball handler.

James Harden is still available.

[cow]

We made the cut!