NBA Trade Rumors: How Bogdanovic, Noel Trade Could Work for Mavs
As the old saying goes, where there's smoke, there's fire. It might be a small fire, but it's a fire nonetheless.
With the February trade deadline getting closer by the day, NBA trade rumors are starting to heat up, and the Dallas Mavericks have come up in quite a few of them.
On Tuesday, the Mavs were linked to Detroit Pistons center Nerlens Noel in a report by The Athletic, calling Dallas one of the teams that has been "most engaged" when it comes to a potential trade for the big man. This is the second time in less than a week that the Mavs-Noel connection has been mentioned.
Also on Tuesday ... the Mavs were linked to Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic in a report by HoopsHype. Out of the two reports, the Bogdanovic one is much more enticing, as he's averaging 21 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists for the Pistons this season while shooting 50.8 percent from the field, including 43.7 percent from deep. Although Bogdanovic will be 34 years old before the season is over, he would be an instant wing/forward upgrade for the Mavs – one that could potentially get them back to last season's Western Conference Finals level of play.
Given that there's separate rumors from different sources linking the Mavs to two Pistons players, naturally, the first question that pops into our minds is, "what if Dallas is trying to swing a trade for both?" Here are a couple of trade ideas we could see making sense based on the rumors:
Mavs receive: Bojan Bogdanovic, Nerlens Noel
Pistons receive: Christian Wood, Dwight Powell
-OR-
Mavs receive: Bojan Bogdanovic, Nerlens Noel
Pistons receive: Tim Hardaway Jr., JaVale McGee, lottery-protected first-round pick
As good as Christian Wood has been for the Mavs in limited minutes this season, the fact remains that he's going to be an unrestricted free agent next summer unless a contract extension is agreed on before then. If an extension isn't in the cards for whatever reasons, then the Mavs will have to explore their trade options. In the first scenario listed above, the Pistons clear nearly $30 million in cap space for the summer as well as getting another look at Wood, who got his first real opportunity in Detroit three years ago.
In the second scenario, Detroit gets Tim Hardaway Jr., who is three years younger than Bogdanovic and on a descending contract that will pay him $16.1 million in the 2024-25 season – the final year of his deal. Over his last eight games, Hardaway has turned a corner and is averaging 20.3 points while shooting 46.5 percent from deep on 10.8 attempts per game. The addition of JaVale McGee's contract makes this scenario warrant a first-round pick, which Dallas might not be willing to include.
There could be other moving pieces of a deal was to materialize, including the involvement of a third team if needed, but for now, it's fun to spitball some of the more practical possibilities based on the rumors that have surfaced. We'll see what else pops up in the coming days and weeks.
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