Dallas Mavericks: Is a trade necessary for future success?

The Dallas Mavericks finally fell down to earth to this week when they got obliviated by the New York Knicks on Wednesday evening. Before the loss, the team was on a six game winning streak and had a nice streak of keeping their competitors below 100 points per game.

Even with everything that transpired this week, the Mavs still stand as the fifth best squad in the Western Conference. They currently hold a one game lead over the six seeded Denver Nuggets and a two game lead ahead of the Los Angeles squad.

This is actually not a bad scenario, given everything Dallas has gone through from COVID, players injuries, and numerous 10 day contracts.

While it is too early to blow things out of proportion, could a trade or two be a realistic possibility?

Is a trade the best way for the Dallas Mavericks to win an NBA championship?

Let us first examine names that the Mavs have been linked to.

Some top tier players included big men John Collins and Myles Turner. Both centers would provide tremendous upsize for a team that lacks an aggressive presence down low.

The chances of Dallas swinging for Collins might be slim. Last season, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News reported that the team had a slim chance of obtaining the Atlanta center. Fast forward to today and I feel the mindset hasn’t changed. I firmly believe he stays put in the ATL.

As far as Turner, Marc Cuban and company might not have enough assets to convince Indiana to pull the plug. Currently the team’s 2023 first round pick is a top ten selection protected by the Knicks.

Honestly, the only way the Mavericks can pull off a trade for either player is by throwing in a variety of young talent such as Jalen Brunson or Josh Green.

Even then, the chances still seem slim.

However, there is a “non-big” that the Mavs have been linked with. Boston Celtic’s guard Dennis Schroder is one other player linked to the Mavs. His fast pace nature and ability to score in the paint are just some of his attractive features.

While it is unsure of what Boston’s asking price is, the chances of Dallas preying Schroder away are higher than the players mentioned before.

Other players that have been thrown around include a variety of Sacramento Kings including Marvin Bagley and Harrison Barnes.

Now if we are talking tradable Dallas Mavericks, it seems just about anybody except Luka Doncic is on the list. Some names that have listed include Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith.

So if we go back and answer the question from before, I believe a small trade for role players like Eric Gordon, Jeremy Grant and Schroder could all be valuable scoring options.

The idea of keeping Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis together seems more and more certain. If this proves to be the case, then all Dallas needs to do is pair an extra scorer or two to help the team reach the next level.