The Mavs & Blazers Can Help Each Other with These 2 Trade Deadline Deals
Simply put, the Dallas Mavericks' front office can't be feeling great about how the team has played over the last two weeks. The Mavs have gone 3-4 during that span with the three wins coming against shorthanded teams that they were expected to beat. Although it's hard to use a the 'rock bottom' to describe this recent stretch when Dallas is 29-23 and fifth in the Western Conference, that's exactly what it feels like after back-to-back losses to two bottom-dwelling teams.
So with the NBA trade deadline less than one week away, how can the Mavs realistically address some of their roster issues?
Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz proposed a trade between the Mavs and Portland Trail Blazers that could be one of the more well-balanced ones we've seen during this frantic trade speculation season.
Dallas Mavericks Receive: SG CJ McCollum, PF Larry Nance Jr.
Portland Trail Blazers Receive: SG Tim Hardaway Jr., SF Reggie Bullock, 2025 first-round pick (lottery-protected), 2022 second-round pick, $10.6 million trade exception
With Portland's season looking lost (21-30, 10th place) and Damian Lillardcurrently out following abdominal surgery, a one-year rebuild should be the goal ... The Blazers can be patient with Hardaway's injury as they work toward collecting a higher draft pick, and he's a bigger wing than McCollum who adds some size to Portland's backcourt. Bullock should help improve the Blazers' 28th-ranked defense and a pair of draft picks ultimately gets the deal done.
Although all the pieces in this hypothetical deal fit, it would technically have to be done in two separate trades being that trade exceptions can't be paired with players when used. So the first trade would likely include Hardaway Jr., Bullock and the 2022 second-round pick being swapped for McCollum. The second trade would be the Mavs absorbing Nance Jr. with their trade exception while also compensating Portland with the 2025 lottery-protected first-round pick.
It has been reported that McCollum might be viewed as a negative trade asset around the league, but given the inconsistent play that Dallas has received from both Hardaway Jr. and Bullock this season, it would be worth trying something new while adding a guy next to Luka Doncic who is more than capable of creating his own shot consistently. McCollum, who is 30 years old and has two years remaining on his contract after this year worth a total of $69 million, is averaging 20.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and is shooting 40.1 percent from deep.
After essentially tanking the rest of this season, the hope for Portland would be for Hardaway Jr. and Bullock to rediscover their high-level three-point shooting going forward. For whatever reasons, both Hardaway Jr. and Bullock are shooting well-below their three-point percentages posted in the 2020-2021 season.
Nance Jr.'s numbers won't 'wow' anyone, as he only averages 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds in 23.2 minutes per game for Portland, but he would give the Mavs a much-needed boost to its frontcourt depth... or at the very least, another solid option to try out when Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber aren't on their A-games.
These two separate trades, plus Kristaps Porzingis getting himself completely healthy (he is about to miss his third-consecutive game due to a right knee bone bruise), could potentially vault the Mavs into contender status in the Western Conference this year without having to give up too much for just one player, as ESPN tried to do with their John Collins proposal.
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