3-Team NBA Trade Idea Gives Mavericks Their Missing Perimeter Defender

The Dallas Mavericks are sitting with 16 players on standard contracts on the roster, and they'll need to find a way to cut it down to 15 before the regular season. That is still months away, which means there is plenty of time to get creative in the trade machine.

Since everyone just LOVED my Jordan Poole trade proposal (yes, that was sarcastic), here is another option that the Mavericks could explore.

Dallas remains way overcrowded in the frontcourt, and this weekend's trade of sending Ryan Nembhard out for Zaccharie Risacher didn't help, even if that's a trade you make every single time.

They need to clear some playing time for guys like Risacher and 9th overall pick Morez Johnson Jr., while also building some future draft capital and adding some depth to the backcourt.

There are plenty of ways to do so, including by dealing with the former team of the new general manager, Mike Schmitz, as he was the assistant GM for the Portland Trail Blazers before coming to Dallas.

Apr 14, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday (5) against the Phoenix Suns during the play-in rounds of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jrue Holiday to Dallas in Three-Team Trade: Could it Work?

Dallas Mavericks Receive: Jrue Holiday, 2029 first-round pick lottery-protected (second-best pick of Utah, Minnesota, and Cleveland, from Utah), 2028 second-round pick (via NYK, from UTA), 2029 second-round pick (via IND, from POR), 2030 second-round pick (via LAC, from UTA)
Utah Jazz Receive: Daniel Gafford
Portland Trail Blazers Receive: P.J. Washington, Brice Sensabaugh, John Konchar

Alright, let's break this down.

As mentioned, the Mavericks have way too many players in their frontcourt, but expecting to get an unprotected first for either P.J. Washington or Daniel Gafford with the new changes to the lottery rules is foolish. The Phoenix Suns may have sent one for Miles Bridges, but everyone immediately called that insane.

While you could argue that they still need Daniel Gafford because of Dereck Lively II's injury issues, they match Moussa Cisse's qualifying offer from the New York Knicks, and Morez Johnson Jr. and Santi Aldama have the versatility to play either power forward or center (I would even say Morez will be better as a center initially).

The Utah Jazz desperately need a center. They let Walker Kessler go to the Los Angeles Lakers for the price of two unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps, while letting Kessler sign for four years, $130 million. It was an incredible overpay as the Lakers try to make Luka Doncic happy, but now the Jazz are left with Jusuf Nurkic, Jaxson Hayes, and Mo Bamba as the centers on the roster.

Gafford would be an upgrade over all three players, so they give up a lottery-protected pick in 2029 and some second-round picks (of which they have plenty to spare) to make it happen. However, they don't have any salary to match to help the Mavs' roster crunch, which is how the Portland Trail Blazers get involved.

Feb 5, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Daniel Gafford (21) controls the ball during the game between the Mavericks and the Spurs at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Portland is loaded in the backcourt. They traded for Ja Morant this offseason, Damian Lillard will be returning from his Achilles tear, and they still have Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, and Vit Krejci, who can all play point guard. Even if they envision a starting backcourt of Lillard and Morant (good luck with that defensively), that doesn't leave much opportunity to grow for Henderson, or for Holiday to close his career in an impactful way like he probably wants.

Holiday would be an immediate upgrade at shooting guard for Dallas, and would instantly solve their biggest need: point-of-attack defense. However, it's a risky contract, as he'll be making $34.8 million this year, then has a player option worth $37 million next year. That could have the Mavs asking for more.

Washington is probably the best player in that other forward group next to Flagg, but he also probably has the most value while being the second-highest-paid player on the Mavs' roster.

Washington goes to Portland, in this instance, to help fill the void left by Portland trading Jerami Grant for Morant, and he could be a starter for them over Toumani Camara. To help make the money work for all three teams, they get two talented shooters, Brice Sensabaugh and John Konchar, from Utah. Portland was 28th in three-point percentage last year and added Ja Morant. They need more shooting, and they get it here.

Because Utah has so many picks to spare, I chose them to give up more picks, but you could argue that the Mavs could get another second from the Blazers, or vice versa. This is what the Mavericks' depth chart would look like in this instance.

Portland would be at 16 contracts after this, but Vit Krejci's deal is fully non-guaranteed until August 1st, and then only $250k becomes guaranteed. His contract doesn't become fully guaranteed until the first day of the season. Or, Micah Potter's deal doesn't become guaranteed until January 10th. They could waive either one easily and be compliant.

PG: Kyrie Irving, Sergio De Larrea, Marcus Sasser
SG: Jrue Holiday, Max Christie, Klay Thompson
SF: Cooper Flagg, Tarik Biberovic, Caleb Martin
PF: Naji Marshall, Santi Aldama, Zaccharie Risacher
C: Dereck Lively II, Morez Johnson Jr., Moussa Cisse

The wings are all interchangeable, and Johnson and Aldama can each play center, as mentioned, but that would be an interesting team, at the very least.

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