The Dallas Mavericks kick-started a new era this offseason, hiring Masai Ujiri as their new lead decision-maker and parting ways with Jason Kidd as their head coach. They will now build around Cooper Flagg under new leadership.
Last season, Flagg proved that he is on track to be a future star Dallas can build around. Every decision they make from now on has to keep that in mind. The Mavs must aim to be contenders when Flagg is in his prime, at least several seasons from now. So, they need to be in asset accumulation mode, meaning that any veteran with trade value should be moved.
Let's take a look at the veterans who are the most likely to be elsewhere next season.
Khris Middleton
The veteran scorer wasn't able to give the Mavs what they were looking for after they traded for him at the deadline. Dallas quickly pulled the plug on the season and didn't try to win too many games down the stretch.
Now, Middleton is an unrestricted free agent. Given where he is in his career and where the Mavs are as a franchise, it's difficult to see him returning to Dallas for another season. He is unlikely to generate much interest outside of minimum offers from contenders, and he would be wise to take one of these offers.
The Mavs need to get younger, so giving the roster spot to a young player with some upside makes more sense.
Daniel Gafford
With plenty of teams, like the Lakers, Clippers, Pelicans, and the Celtics, looking for starting centers, Gafford should have some suitors in the trade market. The Mavs have held onto the 27-year-old center in the past two transaction periods, but keeping him around for longer risks losing Gafford's trade value.
The Mavericks hope that they can finally have Dereck Lively healthy next season. They have a deep frontcourt rotation with PJ Washington and Cooper Flagg. They can also sign a backup center as Lively insurance. Paying Gafford over $54 million over the next three seasons is a luxury the Mavs don't need.
Gafford should be able to bring back a future first-round pick and an intriguing young player for Dallas. It would be wise to trade him while he still has good trade value.
Kyrie Irving
It could end up waiting until the trade deadline, but a Kyrie Irving trade seems inevitable. Perhaps the trade offers won't be too strong, as teams may want to see Irving healthy before giving up a ton of assets for him. In that case, the Mavs could wait until mid-season to trade him.
But it makes more sense to move sooner rather than later. Matching salaries and executing trades are significantly easier in the offseason when teams have more flexibility. Irving's market may be depressed after the season. Plus, there is no guarantee that playing will actually boost his trade value.
There should be plenty of interested parties in Irving's services. Detroit, Orlando, Atlanta, Toronto, Miami, Houston, and Minnesota make a ton of sense as landing spots. If the Mavs can get multiple future first-round picks and a good young player in return, they should make this deal as early as possible.
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