The Dallas Mavericks are never afraid to make a trade, even if it’s a questionable deal.
Over the past couple of years, GM Nico Harrison has made some of the most interesting trades in the league. After making some great deals to help the Mavericks become an NBA Finals team in 2024, he traded away Luka Doncic in February in one of the most shocking trades in league history.
While Harrison has received massive blowback for shipping the young superstar out of town, it’s still possible to see all of the good deals he has made in his tenure in Dallas. Considering he is always willing to make a deal, a three-team deal proposed by Hawks on SI’s Rohan Raman might be a possibility.
Mavericks receive: Jonathan Isaac, Vit Krejci, three second-round picks (via Orlando)
Magic receive: Daniel Gafford, Dante Exum
Hawks receive: Olivier-Maxence Prosper, second-round pick (via Dallas)
This deal is interesting on all fronts for the Mavericks. Considering the team has Cooper Flagg on the squad now alongside Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II in the frontcourt, Gafford might be expendable.
Grabbing another solid, big guard like Krejci and a defensive stopper like Isaac is also intriguing for Dallas. With the incoming players, Dallas probably wouldn’t care much about losing Exum and Prosper.
Effectively, the team is upgrading some of its deep rotation and adding flexibility while dumping Gafford. Netting two second-round picks could be important for Dallas in the future because of its lack of first-rounders.
Plus, the Mavericks would open a roster spot with this deal, allowing them to explore adding another free agent. While this deal has a lot of moving parts and might be unlikely to happen, it surprisingly makes some sense if Harrison wanted to pull the trigger.
