Should Luka Doncic Be Mavs' Only Offseason 'Untouchable' in Trade Talks?
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DALLAS — After pulling off a Western Conference Finals appearance then failing to qualify for the play-in tournament, the Dallas Mavericks face no shortage of tough decisions as they reshape the supporting cast around Luka Doncic.
“A lot of people won’t be back next season," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said of possible roster changes. "There will be a lot of new faces.”
When evaluating what the Mavs' offseason needs, the list is long. It starts with a need to repair what became a broken defense. They are sorely in need of adding rim protection, a difference-making low-man to anchor the backline, and better point of attack defenders. Right now, they have almost nothing that would set the tone for a top defense and will need to address it.
Additionally, the Mavs are plagued with one-dimensional players. Teams often put Doncic in a situation to play a taxing style of offense. Either he was getting doubled and having to give the ball up in a 4-on-3 with underwhelming talent being put in a position to make a play, or the shot clock would wind down for the ball to find Doncic to save the possession. Other times, teams would switch and force Doncic to break down a defender out in space over and over to wear him out.
Until Kyrie Irving arrived, there wasn't a trustworthy option to initiate the Mavs' offense outside of Doncic. Even with both dynamic talents sharing the floor, the limited nature of the players around them was apparent. As the focus is to reshape the roster, an emphasis to add more dynamic threats that can take more tighter contested shots, attack closeouts, make plays out of short-rolls, or perhaps be deployed in an action would be helpful additions to make.
When evaluating which players on each NBA team should be considered untouchable in trade talks this offseason, Bleacher Report identified only Doncic for the Dallas Mavericks. Given that Irving is set to reach free agency this offseason, he isn't eligible to be considered an untouchable.
The Mavs' young players on favorable contracts like Josh Green and Jaden Hardy were eligible, but weren't designated as untouchable. Outside of Doncic, there are seven players already signed for the 2023-24 season on the roster.
None of the veterans under contract — Tim Hardaway Jr., Davis Bertans, Maxi Kleber, Reggie Bullock, and JaVale McGee — should be considered the caliber of player that warrants an untouchable label. Instead, in an ideal scenario, most of them would be utilized for salary matching in trades during the offseason.
While Green showed upside in his third season, averaging 9.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 60 games, he is undersized to be a perfect complement on the wing next to Doncic and Irving. While he could find his footing after having a full training camp and early season, he did struggle when sharing the floor with Doncic and Irving, too.
“Josh had a great season. Now we’re going to ask a little bit more from him, and I thought during the season when we started to give him the ball to make decisions, I thought he responded in a positive way.”
“So now, can he run the offense?” Kidd rhetorically asked. “Can he get guys in position? And the value of that will be great if he can develop that.
Hardy is slated to be an integral member of the Mavs' backcourt rotation in the near future, especially on a team that plans to build around superstars that will miss games at points of the season. It's hard to find complementary players with the confidence and talent to step in and play a big role.
I don’t know if he surprised us," Kidd said of Hardy. "I think the expectation was he was a lottery pick and he fell to the second round. So, for us to be able to get him in the second round, we were fortunate.
“He does have a skill set. We’ve seen that this season. So now it’s just a matter of getting him more minutes on the floor with some of those guys like Kai and Luka (Doncic).”
Much of what the Mavs can accomplish in trade negotiations will depend on the outcome of the NBA Draft Lottery. With the 10th best odds for the top overall pick while facing a top 10 protection, there is a wide range of possible outcomes. It's not just about where the pick will land, whether it's kept or conveys to the New York Knicks is an important possibility to keep in mind.
If the Mavs retain their 2023 first-round pick, they will be able to trade it along with a 2027 first-round pick as the only outright first-round selections that can be traded this offseason. Of course, adding pick swaps is an option, but those are not valued nearly the same as actual first-round picks. If the Mavs lose their 2023 first-round pick, they could trade their 2025 and 2027 first-round picks.
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