Terry Rozier to Mavs? Proposed Trade Lands 3 Hornets in Dallas

With the next month's trade deadline three weeks away, ESPN tried their hand at proposing a trade between the Dallas Mavericks and the Charlotte Hornets.

The Dallas Mavericks (24-22) currently sit as the No. 5 seed in the West as trade season rapidly heats up. 

On Wednesday, ESPN reported that Luka Doncic 'has strongly indicated he wants the Mavs to upgrade before the Feb. 9 trade deadline.' That report has since been denied by both owner Mark Cuban and Doncic himself.

Whether or not Doncic has hinted at upgrades or not, anyone with eyes can see that some are needed. The Mavs are on the clock as an organization, as Doncic is ready to win now, and the current roster around him simply isn't good enough to be a title contender.

With that said, what's the move?

In ESPN's Western Conference trade predictions, Bobby Marks proposed a deal between the Mavericks and the Charlotte Hornets that would send Terry Rozier, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Jalen McDaniels from to Dallas for Tim Hardaway Jr., Davis Bertans and a 2027 top-10-protected first (will become second-round picks in 2027 and 2029 if not conveyed). 

Getting off THJ and Bertans' deals would be a positive for the Mavericks, but if Dallas is to move a first-round pick, it has to move the needle toward title contention now. In this case, the deal proposed doesn't necessarily do that. 

For starters, Oubre is currently injured and out for several weeks as he recovers from hand surgery. When healthy, Oubre was averaging a career-high 20.2 points but shooting his lowest percentage from the field since 2017-18 and just 30.8 percent from 3-point range – his lowest since 2016-17.

With Rozier, who would be considered the highlight of this deal, he's averaging a career-high in points at 20.8 points on a career-high 19.1 shots per game. But like Oubre, Rozier is shooting just 41.2 percent from the field, his lowest since 2018-19, and only 32.4 percent from downtown, his lowest since 2016-17. 

Simply put, both Oubre and Rozier have been chuckers on a bottom-feeding Hornets team, and they've done very little to make that team better this season. 

For McDaniels, he's a versatile rotation piece who can contribute in a playoff rotation and would have a role on this Mavericks team. In a separate deal, that'd make some sense for Dallas.

Rozier would give the Mavs another ball-handler and playmaker, but this deal isn't worthy of a first-round pick. GM Nico Harrison and company should protect all first-round draft picks unless the right deal surfaces to give Doncic a true co-star teammate.

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