DRAFT: #18 [Green] & #31 [Terry] & trade for #36 [Tyler Bey]

[Tyler]

P.S. If the Mavs wanted to create space to sign Hayward outright I am almost 100% certain they could do it.

Good point. 

Let's assume the rumors are right and the cap will be set at $109mm. Dallas currently has $110mm in salaries. So basically every dollar they're able to trade away for air is a dollar they can offer to a free agent.

If I'm Dallas, I'd have two goals in this situation: 

1. Do NOT trade players who are free agents in '21 (because we need them to expire to create cap space). 
2. Try to maximize their value while not taking any salary back. The best way to do this is to get picks. But a S&T for another player also works.

The options that meet criteria #1 are Powell (11), Wright (9), Maxi(8.25), Curry(7.8),  and DFS(4). They total about $40mm in salary next year. Dallas obviously wouldn't trade all of them, but they also probably wouldn't have to in order to clear plenty of space to sign a FA like Hayward.

The teams I'd look at for criteria #2 are ones with lots of cap space who might be willing to deal their higher pick for our 2 picks plus a few good players. Let's say Atlanta would trade #6 for 18, 31, Wright, and Maxi. That's a lot of value for one pick that they don't seem too enthused about keeping anyway. Dallas gets a lottery pick, clears enough cap space to sign a guy like Hayward for about $16mm and their '21 cap space is still untouched (pending whatever small salary difference there is between 6 and 18+31).

Now maybe that's not enough money for Hayward to opt out, but you get the idea. Tweak away. But the moral of the story is that I do think there could be ways to clear space for him without depending on a S&T to get it done. And BTW, the same approach could apply to Gallo. Honestly, locking up a scoring wing who is a clear starter while preserving cap space in '21 would be a huge win this offseason, IMO. Even if it takes trading off some of the bench depth to do it.