Following the sudden and frankly deserved firing of former GM Nico Harrison, the Dallas Mavericks find their team in disarray. It appears that they are gearing up for a fire sale, with them moving on from their best players in hopes of rebuilding their depleted draft stockpile.
That is necessary considering they have only three picks remaining with which to use to build around number one overall pick Cooper Flagg. First up on the trade block is likely to be star Anthony Davis, followed by Kyrie Irving, if they have any available trade value.
Other such players could include Naji Marshall and Daniel Gafford, who could receive trade interest from at least two contenders. Davis’ value is tricky considering that he is still one of the best players in the NBA, but he is also 32 years old and has a long injury history that could scare teams away.
Of course, he is a game-changing defender and a skilled offensive player that could take a fringe playoff team and turn them into a contender. However, what it would take to acquire him could be a deal breaker for most teams.
29 NBA teams are already lining up for the Mavericks’ fire sale
Of the most likely teams to be interested in acquiring Davis, the Sacramento Kings probably make the most sense. While Davis doesn’t like playing center, he would actually work quite well playing alongside Domantas Sabonis.
Sabonis is a talented offensive player, but his defensive shortcomings make it difficult for Sacramento to be anything near average on that end of the floor. However, adding Davis to the mix could fix their biggest weakness and potentially make them a top 15 offense and a top 15 defense.
That probably won’t get them very far in the playoffs, but it should get them to the playoffs. That is a big deal considering the Kings have only made the postseason once since 2004. Baby steps.
Who else could be interested in a Mavericks fire sale?
The alternative is for them to trade Sabonis, and he might not fetch them enough to jumpstart a rebuild. Other potential landing spots for Davis could include the Los Angeles Lakers (how hilarious would that be?) or perhaps the Golden State Warriors.
As for Irving, the Houston Rockets would be a spicy landing spot. They are in need of a starting point guard and have the salary to match his contract, should they so choose.
Ultimately, the Dallas Mavericks are likely to trade most of their best players ahead of the deadline. Although the trade value for players such as Irving and Davis has yet to be determined, that likely won’t stop the other 29 NBA teams from trying to acquire Dallas’s top players for pennies on the dollar.
