How Dallas Mavs Can Make Big Trade with 'Selfish' Toronto Raptors
Although the Dallas Mavericks' roster appears to be set for the start of the 2023-24 season, things can always change depending on what other opportunities arise around the league. When looking for those potential opportunities, perhaps the Mavs can eventually enhance their roster by poaching one of the Toronto Raptors' key assets.
The biggest of those assets is two-time All-Star and champion forward Pascal Siakam, who averaged 24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists last season. Siakam heads into this season on an expiring $37.9 million contract, and it doesn't appear that Raptors' President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri is close to giving him an extension.
"A lot of players didn't play the right way," Ujiri said at Media Day when asked about not initiating contract extension talks with Siakam. "I said it, that we were selfish, I'm not running away from that. We were selfish and we didn't play the right way. So let us see it when we play the right way."
The Mavs might not have the assets to swing a trade for Siakam, who was the subject of several trade rumors over the summer, but even if they did, his massive salary would be hard to take on without giving up too much depth — especially with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving both making north of $40 million per year.
There are other players on the Raptors' roster worth making calls about if Ujiri ultimately decides to blow things up, though. Sixth-year small forward O.G. Anunoby is one of them, as he's set to make $18.6 million this season before potentially hitting unrestricted free agency next summer just like Siakam will.
Luka Doncic and O.G. Anunoby meet at center court after a Dallas Mavericks’ game against the Toronto Raptors.
Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Anunoby has a player option worth $19.9 million for the 2024-25 season, but he will very likely decline that option to make much more on the open market. The 26-year-old averaged 16.8 points, 5.0 rebound and a career-high 1.9 steals per game last season while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from deep while playing excellent defense. Long story short, he’d be an excellent fit alongside Doncic, Irving and the rest of the Mavs’ roster while also being low-maintenance.
In theory, a trade sending Tim Hardaway Jr., Josh Green and a future first-round pick to Toronto for Anunoby could work. Hardaway would mainly be included for salary filler, but he’s a useful veteran and only has two years remaining on his descending-salary contract. And if the Raptors think they could potentially lose Anunoby for nothing in free agency, perhaps having Green, who is also a good defender, six years younger and set to enter restricted free agency — barring an extension — could be a good option for Ujiri to salvage the situation.
The Mavs certainly don’t have the best potential trade package to offer the Raptors for Siakam or Anunoby when looking at what other teams around the league have to offer, but given how Toronto has let both players’ contract situations get to this point with no extensions, it might have to settle for a less-than-ideal return.
From our vantage point, it seems like the Raptors’ current situation has mostly been caused by Ujiri being greedy, not his players being selfish.
