Mavs Trade Efforts on Tim Hardaway Jr. & JaVale McGee; Grant Williams Offer Sheet?
As the slow wait for Thursday's opening to restricted free agency trudges on, the Dallas Mavericks are patiently waiting until they can execute their next moves.
After having a great draft night, re-signing Kyrie Irving and signing Seth Curry, we think we know at least two other motives the Mavs have in the coming days and weeks: 1) sign Boston Celtics 3-and-D forward Grant Williams either straight out or via sign-and-trade, and 2) find a trade partner to take on Tim Hardaway Jr. and JaVale McGee ... preferably in a deal that nets Dallas a starting center.
In a recent article for The Athletic, NBA analyst Tim Cato reinforced both of those ideas while also noting that it will be a lot easier said than done for the Mavs.
"There are three more players under contract — Tim Hardaway Jr., JaVale McGee, and Richaun Holmes — who Dallas is attempting to trade," Cato wrote. "Holmes is the likeliest of the three to stick around, while Hardaway and McGee can’t be on Dallas’ roster if the front office wants to conclude its offseason in the way they envisioned."
One ideal scenario mentioned would be the Mavs being able to talk the Celtics into taking Hardaway and McGee in exchange for Williams in a sign-and-trade. Not only would this allow Boston to get something for Williams instead of losing him for nothing, but it could also possibly allow Williams to make more than annually than just the $12.4 million MLE.
"One potentially ideal conclusion to the Mavericks’ summer could involve a sign-and-trade for Boston Celtics restricted free agent forward Grant Williams and a salary dump involving Hardaway and McGee," Cato wrote. "Curry could then be signed through the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, with the remainder of that ($7.9 million) then being used in an offer sheet for Portland restricted free agent Matisse Thybulle. That’s all theoretically possible, and Dallas’ interest in Williams, which was first reported by The Athletic in June, remains strong."
All of that would be great for Dallas, but it takes two to tango. We'll just have to wait and see how all the other trade scenarios play out, and how they affect what the Mavs are wanting to do. For example, the Celtics wedging their way into the Damian Lillard trade sweepstakes could have an impact on what the Mavs are able to accomplish.
Even if the Mavs fail to add another veteran, starting-caliber center, acquiring Grant could could still put a cherry on top of what has already been a pretty decent offseason in our opinion. We all knew that the Dallas front office likely had too many roster holes to fill in one offseason, but they're trying to chip away at it, and so far, they've done a good job with the cards they've been dealt.
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