ROSTER TALK: Mavs favs for Vogel if no HC job exists. Kyrie handshake deal?

[Tyler]

This is why I keep coming back to Ben Simmons. 

• Skin Wade said their pursuit might be "muddied" by the KD trade request. Ben fits that. 
  
  
• The Mavs say they want a playoff rotation wing. Ben fits that.
  
  
• Fans seem to think there is an obvious hole of depth at the PG position. Ben fits that. 
  

Same here. Simmons is the obvious fit for Dallas that solves their two open needs simultaneously.

Reading the tea leaves of who has been seen in Vegas and who has not (although Powell gets a pass for playing for the Canadian national team), I could see the core of the deal being something like THJ/Maxi/Powell for Simmons. Maybe you add a future pick or take some other smaller contracts back.

Brooklyn is notably lacking size and both Maxi and Powell would help there while also being easily movable expirings for future deals and/or cap flexibility. THJ would be the direct Simmons positional replacement with more shooting. And all three would also be much-needed good lockerroom guys.

For Dallas, this looks pretty damn competitive as your core playoff 8:

Ballhandlers: Luka/Dinwiddie (Simmons is also an additional ballhandler in any lineup)

Wings: Simmons/DFS/Bullock/Green (crazy good defensive flexibility)

Bigs: Wood/McGee


Pipe dream? Sure. But I do think it makes tons of sense in terms of roster construction.