Bill Simmons' NBA Trade Idea - Covington to Dallas? - Could Be 'Just Right' for Mavs
It's the most wonderful time of the year for NBA basketball junkies. Games are on every single night, and there will be a slew of Christmas Day games to enjoy next week (and by the way, we're thinking about starting a petition to replace the Rockets-Warriors game with something else involving the Mavs). The most exciting aspect of the NBA right now, though, in our opinion, is all the trade speculation that builds up from December all the way up to the trade deadline in February.
At DallasBasketball.com, it's always been a tradition of ours to take educated guesses at potential trade ideas involving the Dallas Mavericks based on 1) what the team needs and 2) what all is happening with other teams around the NBA at the time. The Ringer's Bill Simmons put a four-way hypothetical trade into the Twitterverse today that we believe could be 'just right' for the Mavs. Here is the proposed trade:
Mavs receive: J.J. Redick, Robert Covington
Nuggets receive: Jrue Holiday
Timberwolves receive: Lonzo Ball, Seth Curry
Pelicans receive: Garry Harris, Michael Porter Jr., Courtney Lee, future first-round pick from Minnesota (top-12 protected), 2020 second-round pick from Dallas (Golden State's pick), $3 million in cash from Dallas
Not only does that trade help out with what the Mavs need, in theory, but it also helps the other three teams as well. Every team gets something of value in this deal based on each franchise's situation. The Mavs and Nuggets bolster their chances of contending for a title, while the underachieving Pelicans and Timberwolves receive some young players on very reasonable contracts, as well as draft assets.
If one of these teams said 'no' to this trade, our guess is that it would probably be the Timberwolves. However, simply redirecting that Warriors second-round pick to Minnesota seems to make this trade fair all the way around.
We've written and talked at length about whether or not the Mavs should make a trade this season. (What pieces do they have? Not enough? Is there a way to chase Andre Drummond?) With the team playing as well as they have been, it would be risky to make a move sending too many pieces out, which would compromise the chemistry that has been built (look at the 2014 Rajon Rondo trade as an extreme example). However, mid-tier trade like this could be exactly what the Mavs need to solidify their status as a true title contender with Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis leading the way. Dallas would lose Seth Curry, a recent 'step-up' guy, who has been scorching the nets lately, but would be adding two excellent three-point shooters in return, with Robert Covington (a player we believe the Dallas personnel department thinks highly of) also being a lock-down perimeter defender.
There is a little less than two months until the NBA's trade deadline, but go ahead and file this trade idea away to the DBcom 'Let's Keep An Eye On It' folder, as we head into the new year.
