Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[DanSchwartzgan]

Josh Green for Caleb Martin makes some sense for both teams. TWolves save $4.7M, giving them a buffer under A2 of about $1.2M, with Martin's ULTBE accounted for. Mavs get off Martin's money next season and give themselves a decent sized expiring to maybe use at the TDL? The expiring's they have now seem like ones they'll want to keep. Green, probably not.

To not make it all about the contract/money.... Green is a career 39% 3PT shooter and fits in the 25 and under box.

Who, if anyone gives up draft capital in a Green for Martin swap.

If you are Minnesota, would you rather have expiring Martin in 27/28 or 1/3 of Green’s stretched salary in each of the next two seasons after this one?

[Smitty]

Who, if anyone gives up draft capital in a Green for Martin swap.

If you are Minnesota, would you rather have expiring Martin in 27/28 or 1/3 of Green’s stretched salary in each of the next two seasons after this one?

I think Mavs get the draft capital? They don't have to make a move at all and are taking on an additional ~$5M that isn't necessary. I see a mutual benefit for both teams though, which is why I suggested it. I wouldn't expect the draft capital to be anything significant. Maybe as little as a protected SRP. Which is next to nothing.

[Chicagojk]

That Josh Green extension not looking so great.   Sort of like most of Nico's later moves...Marshall maybe being the exception.   Green had a prime opportunity to grab a role with Charlotte.   He just never did and they zoomed ahead and left him behind.   Maybe he can find a place in Minny.  Although, they have several guys at his spot.  Shannon and the rookie they drafted out of Duke who could take any minutes left over.

[DanSchwartzgan]

I think Mavs get the draft capital? They don't have to make a move at all and are taking on an additional ~$5M that isn't necessary. I see a mutual benefit for both teams though, which is why I suggested it. I wouldn't expect the draft capital to be anything significant. Maybe as little as a protected SRP. Which is next to nothing.

Minnesota’s only tradable pick is a fake second in 2030 from Memphis.  But, even fake seconds have some value in touching teams in multi-team trades.  I asked the question, but I think it isn’t really worth any more than that as Dallas is also getting significant benefit by getting off of $10mm of salary in 2027-28 and having an expiring deal to trade at the upcoming TDL.

[Smitty]

Minnesota’s only tradable pick is a fake second in 2030 from Memphis.  But, even fake seconds have some value in touching teams in multi-team trades.  I asked the question, but I think it isn’t really worth any more than that as Dallas is also getting significant benefit by getting off of $10mm of salary in 2027-28 and having an expiring deal to trade at the upcoming TDL.

Perfect. A fake 2030 SRP sounds about right.

[KillerLeft]

Probably not popular, but Martin for Green is one trade I'd probably do without draft capital. I miiiiiiight even include a fake 2nd to get it done, though I wouldn't expect to have to throw one in.

I think the benefit for the Mavs is to get an expiring to shop THIS YEAR at the deadline, now that Thompson and Marshall's are both gone, and if not, sure - just let that money come of the books, which they're going to have to do eventually, somehow.

I like that deal quite a bit, actually.

[F Gump]

Josh Green for Caleb Martin makes some sense for both teams. TWolves save $4.7M, giving them a buffer under A2 of about $1.2M, with Martin's ULTBE accounted for. Mavs get off Martin's money next season and give themselves a decent sized expiring to maybe use at the TDL? The expiring's they have now seem like ones they'll want to keep. Green, probably not.

To not make it all about the contract/money.... Green is a career 39% 3PT shooter and fits in the 25 and under box.

I was thinking the very same thing, Green for Martin as a solution that is perhaps a win-win. Mavs should ask for a pick also. MINN wins big in avoiding a stretch-waive which not only clogs future payroll but also forces them to have room to add a replacement player. As thin as they are, Martin might be very useful to them.

ADDED  - I see this is already being discussed before I got to it. It sounds like a good idea to me too.

[Razzmatazz_Hopskidillydoo]

We know who Josh Green is, and the most likely path for him is to be on a vet minimum on his next contract or just play overseas, but if there's any team out there that can alter Green's career path at this point, its probably the Mavs.

Reasons:
While Josh Green's handles are loose, its still decent, and IMHO, still better than the Mavs projected starting SG in Max, and Risascher who folks around here thinks can play the 2-guard.
Tarik is an unknown, if he is legit the Mavs win. If he isn't --then Green has more PT.
While Green isn't a playmaker in a traditional sense, he is a connector and knows how to pass.
Mavs have an emphasis in shooting, which JG has better than average percentages with (if he shoots it of course)
Mavs have an emphasis on playing fast, which benefits JG's game.
JG has a clean slate with coach May. He has sorta-like an equal opportunity here, specially early on.
The Mavs lack guards, and JG is.

Green might just end up as an asset on the TDL or someone the Mavs would let expire, and chances are, that's just going to be it. BUT Green potentially helps the Mavs as a player this season. I'm looking forward from a long bounce pass from Sergio to a streaking JG. A lob from Sergio to JG and a Luka-like find for Sergio for a JG 3.

OF COURSE, A trade must happen first. But I'd love it if it happens.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

That Josh Green extension not looking so great.  

His career ended the night he got punked by Austin Reaves on national television.  Some guys just don't have "it."

[Chicagojk]

So the Pelicans have Trey Murphy who everyone wants.   Now with potentially getting Matthurin, they have a lot of players who want/need the ball.

Zion, Poole, Murray, Fears, Bey, and now Mathurin.   This could get really ugly.

[Mavs2021]

So the Pelicans have Trey Murphy who everyone wants.   Now with potentially getting Matthurin, they have a lot of players who want/need the ball.

Zion, Poole, Murray, Fears, Bey, and now Mathurin.   This could get really ugly.

No worries, Pelicans are the Nico Harrison medical staff of the animal kingdom. They´ll all be injured by Christmas.

[SleepingHero]

I wonder if Masai is looking at the buyout market more so than the FA one.

Lakers are pretty desperate for a defensive wing now after Kuminga went to Minny. I wonder how open they'd be for a Martin for Hardy swap 1 for 1.

We can buyout Hardy, and then have our MLE to work with for any potential other buyouts. One name on my mind is Zach Lavine. Doubt he looks for a buyout as it caps his next deal, but at some point he's going to have to try and get on a winning situation. He fits positionally and fills a need, and at MLE money, he'd make a lot of sense.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

“We are no fan of the second apron,” Kelly said. “I would say there is no fan of the second apron. Maybe there are 30 or 31, if you include Adam (Silver),” he said, referring to the owners and commissioner. Kelly added that it’s “pretty clear” the second apron has made it “harder to keep teams together.” “The league will say that’s part of the reason why they put it in place—they think that it’s necessary for parity. I would point to the fact that there was parity before the second apron was put into existence,” Kelly said.

Front Office Sports

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Shams Charania: Free agent center Nick Richards has agreed to a one-year deal with the Miami Heat, sources tell ESPN. After signing Klay Thompson, the Heat fill roster slot No. 14 with a reserve big man. With Nick Richards (who got the Heat's 14th standard contract) agreeing to a non-guaranteed deal, the Heat have the flexibility to pounce on any player who emerges, and they like, with a 15th roster spot or even the 14th. And only $500,000 of Myron Gardner's $2.6 M is guaranteed. Heat say Nick Richards will wear No. 8. The Miami Heat and Keshad Johnson have agreed to a two-way deal, league sources told @hoopshype. The former Slam Dunk Contest winner has spent the past two seasons in Miami.

x.com

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Michael Scoto: Updates: The Warriors signed Georges Niang to a partially guaranteed deal and Brandon Williams to a non-guaranteed deal, sources say. Niang is partially guaranteed for $1.84M of his $3.88M salary. Williams can earn $1.4M if he makes the opening-night roster and up to $2.63M total

x.com

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Michael Scotto: The Denver Nuggets are stretching Jonas Valanciunas’ remaining $2 million salary owed for the 2026-27 season, league sources told @hoopshype. As a result, Valanciunas will be on Denver’s books for $667K each of the following three seasons.

x.com

[HoosierDaddyKid]

There was a lot of talk about the second apron. Can you explain what the second apron is? Dan Rube: The second apron is a new payroll threshold that was put into this latest CBA [collective bargaining agreement]. And it adds, for the very highest spending teams, greater transaction restrictions and penalties than we’ve previously had in other CBAs. To get a little more specific, the transaction restrictions that apply to teams that have payrolls above the second apron level, they relate to adding new talent. For example, if a team is above the second apron, it can still sign contract extensions with its players and use the Larry Bird salary cap exception to re-sign its players as free agents. What you can no longer do if you have a payroll above that level are things like what we call the mid-level salary exception to bring in a new player or trade several lower-salaried players away in exchange for a single player making the sum of those salary amounts and going above the second apron by even more with transactions like those that add new talent. Where is that second apron threshold set? It increases every year in proportion to other system levels, but for the upcoming season, it’s at $222 million. And that means that for those consequences that I described to apply to a team, they’d have to be spending more than $57 million above that $165 million salary cap or more than $20 million above the $200 million tax level. And just to give you a sense of the size of the group the new rules are targeting, historically, until shortly before this CBA, on average per year, we had about two to three teams spending at that highest tier.
Over the past eight years, we’ve had eight different champions, and we haven’t had back-to-back finalists in about that same amount of time since the Golden State Warriors played in back-to-back Finals in 2018 and 2019.


NBA.com

[DanSchwartzgan]

Probably not popular, but Martin for Green is one trade I'd probably do without draft capital. I miiiiiiight even include a fake 2nd to get it done, though I wouldn't expect to have to throw one in.

I think the benefit for the Mavs is to get an expiring to shop THIS YEAR at the deadline, now that Thompson and Marshall's are both gone, and if not, sure - just let that money come of the books, which they're going to have to do eventually, somehow.

I like that deal quite a bit, actually.

One nice thing about this concept - we shouldn’t have to wait forever if it is going to happen.  If their best alternative is a waive and stretch, the deadline to do that is Saturday afternoon.

[michaeltex]

So, just to be clear, the Josh Green we're talking about is the ex-Mav Josh Green? The one who, despite great athleticism, had a hard time seeing PT in DAL? The same one who, despite being an active NBA player, could not get one minute of PT playing for the Aussie Olympic team? That Josh Green?

I mean, if you can get rid of the Martin albatross contract, then go for it. But I would expect zero meaningful contributions from him. Returning to DAL would not be a fresh start or clean slate. He's best used as an expiring trade piece or easily cut-able roster spot, IMO. His real value in the proposed trade would be cleaning up the one remaining Nico f-up.

[mvossman]

So, just to be clear, the Josh Green we're talking about is the ex-Mav Josh Green? The one who, despite great athleticism, had a hard time seeing PT in DAL? The same one who, despite being an active NBA player, could not get one minute of PT playing for the Aussie Olympic team? That Josh Green?

I mean, if you can get rid of the Martin albatross contract, then go for it. But I would expect zero meaningful contributions from him. Returning to DAL would not be a fresh start or clean slate. He's best used as an expiring trade piece or easily cut-able roster spot, IMO. His real value in the proposed trade would be cleaning up the one remaining Nico f-up.

That would be the primary purpose.  But I think he is more useful on the court than you are making him out to be.  He is a decent defender and shoots 3s at a high percentage and decent volume (which has been growing every season he has been in the league).  He is not that different from Max Christie (don't get me wrong, Max is the younger, better player).