5 Trades for Dallas Mavericks to Consider Ahead of NBA's Deadline

The NBA trade deadline is just six days away, and the Dallas Mavericks know what they must do. They're ten games below .500 nearly 60% of the way through the season, they're one of the five most expensive teams in the NBA, and they have few expiring contracts, meaning they're going to be rolling this over to next year, despite being bad, unless trades are made.

Dallas does have a few veterans who have some value, but they also have some salaries they'd like to get off of. Here are five (mostly) realistic trades the Mavs should consider.

1. Klay Thompson Lands on Possible Eastern Conference Contender

Jan 24, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) runs back up the court against the Los Angeles Lakers during the game at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Dallas Mavericks Receive: Tyus Jones, Jonathan Isaac, 2027 second-round pick (via Boston, from Orlando)
Orlando Magic Receives: Klay Thompson, D'Angelo Russell

The Orlando Magic desperately need three-point shooting to surround Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, and Thompson has been the great shooter we've known him to be in the last month and a half. He could be the perfect addition to the Magic off the bench. He's been an incredible professional in Dallas, but this tenure has not been what he signed up for at all, and the Magic could use a veteran presence in that locker room.

For the Mavericks, Tyus Jones is an expiring contract at $7 million. Jonathan Isaac has a partially guaranteed deal for next year, where they could waive him and he'd count $8 million against the cap, or they can keep him for the 2026-27 season at $14.5 million, and he'd be entirely non-guaranteed for the 2027-28 season. Because he'd count against the cap next year, the Mavs get a second-round pick that is likely to end up in the 50s in the 2027 draft. Even if they were to keep Isaac for next season, this would free up nearly $9 million off next year's books. If they waive him, that's over $15 million off the books for next year.

The Pistons could be another option for Thompson, but I don't see them trading Tobias Harris in anything other than an upgrade.

2. Daniel Gafford Gives Mavericks a Bet on Young Talent

Dec 25, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Daniel Gafford (21) before the game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Mavericks Receive: Bennedict Mathurin
Indiana Pacers Receive: Daniel Gafford

The Indiana Pacers desperately need a long-term upgrade at center after they lost Myles Turner to the Milwaukee Bucks last offseason. Daniel Gafford could be the perfect lob threat for Tyrese Haliburton when he returns from his Achilles tear. The Pacers also have no interest in winning this year while Haliburton recovers, so that would allow Gafford to fully heal from the ankle injury that has been bugging him all year.

For the Mavericks, they'd get a talented young player back in Bennedict Mathurin, whose contract expires at the end of this year. If he fits, they can extend him. If they're not sure, they can probably get him back on the qualifying offer, which is how I imagine it would end up. And if they want it to expire, he'll expire. The trade alone saves them $5.2 million on their books this year, which is a lot of tax relief. And Gafford is set to make $17.2 million next year, while Mathurin's qualifying offer would be roughly $12.4 million.

3. Naji Marshall Helps Give Mavericks Draft Capital

Jan 19, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Naji Marshall (13) at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Mavericks Receive: Pat Connaughton, 2027 first-round pick (DAL's Own)
Charlotte Hornets Receive: Naji Marshall, Dante Exum

The Dallas Mavericks should try to get one of their future first-round picks back from someone, and it's hard to find a trade to get that done. Here are all the future picks they owe: 2027 Top-2 Protected (Charlotte), 2028 pick swap (OKC), 2029 unprotected (Houston, it's now currently a best swap between the Suns, Nets, and Rockets), 2030 pick swap (San Antonio). And it's extremely difficult to find a trade with any of those teams as OKC needs shooting and the Mavs have none outside of Max Christie, Houston needs a point guard and the Mavs have no healthy good ones, and the Spurs are letting their core grow.

That leaves Charlotte. They've sniffed around a possible Daniel Gafford trade, but they could also use an upgrade on the wing, whether that's letting Miles Bridges go in a different trade or having just quality wing depth. Naji Marshall is one of the more valued players potentially on the market this trade season, even if the Mavs want a first-round pick back for him. And it's hard to find a team that has firsts to trade that could actually use him. This one is a reach, but they would get $9 million in expiring money from Pat Connaughton, and since they have to send out Dante Exum to make the money work, they'd free up the roster spot they need to sign Ryan Nembhard or Moussa Cisse to a standard NBA contract.

I imagine in this instance that the Mavericks wouldn't get their entire first-round pick back, but they could lighten the restriction to being lottery-protected instead.

4. Anthony Davis Finally Gets Traded

Dec 25, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) before the game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Mavericks Receive: Immanuel Quickley, Jakob Poeltl, 2028 unprotected first-round pick, 2030 unprotected first-round pick
Toronto Raptors Receive: Anthony Davis, Brandon Williams (via minimum player exception

This would be assuming that the Toronto Raptors miss out on the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, as they have as much to offer as any other team. But the salaries of Quickley and especially Poeltl are unattractive, to say the least. If I'm the Mavericks, I'm asking for at least three firsts in this kind of scenario, but that may not be feasible given the current value of Davis.

However, if the Raptors can get him healthy, they can make a run with a core of Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, and Davis. The Eastern Conference is wide open, and even having Brandon Williams as a bench scorer would be a decent replacement for losing Quickley.

More than anything, this would allow Mavericks fans to mostly move on from the Luka Doncic trade. Davis is the biggest reminder of it, and the fact that he's rarely available doesn't help anything. It would be hard to move off Quickley and/or Poeltl in the future, but at least they'd get some more draft capital.

5. Salary Dumping a Bad Contract

Oct 13, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Jaden Hardy (1) watches for the rebound during the second half against the Utah Jazz at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Peter Creveling-Imagn Images | Peter Creveling-Imagn Images

Mavericks Receive: Haywood Highsmith
Brooklyn Nets Receive: Jaden Hardy, 2030 second-round pick (via PHI)

A successful trade deadline would involve the Mavericks getting rid of either Jaden Hardy or Caleb Martin's contract for an expiring contract, whether that's attaching them in another trade or dumping them to a team like the Brooklyn Nets. Everyone in the Mavericks would prefer to move on from Martin's deal, but it would take more than one second-round pick to trade, and the Mavs only have two as of now.

Highsmith is injured and won't play this year, and his contract of $5.6 million would come off the books this offseason. Meanwhile, Hardy is in the first year of a three-year, $18 million contract. The final year is partially guaranteed, which is why any team taking on a salary dump for him wouldn't mind it.

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