Mavs Free-Agency Signings Indicate Multiple Trades Coming?

The Dallas Mavericks have a lot of guards on their roster right now with wing depth and a veteran starting center still needed. Could this mean a trade or two could be in the works?
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Although the Dallas Mavericks successfully completed their top priority of the offseason by re-signing star point guard Kyrie Irving to a three-year, $126 million contract, they still have a lot of work to do if they want to accomplish their other big goals.

The Mavs were the worst rebounding team in the league last season, and they ranked 25th in defense. Naturally, GM Nico Harrison gave an honest assessment of those two areas of concern at season's end by stating his intentions of fixing them.

"I think for us going into the offseason, the two biggest things that we need to work on is defense and rebounding," Harrison said. "That's going to be addressed."

Indeed, those areas were addressed during the NBA Draft, as the Mavs ended up with Dereck Lively II, OMax Prosper and Richaun Holmes in separate trades. Despite that glowing draft night, those moves alone won't truly fix what they set out on fixing this summer. Yes, Lively and Prosper are defensive-minded and have a lot of potential, but they're also rookies who will need some time to grow. Holmes can grab rebounds if given the opportunity, but he doesn't help the Mavs' defense much.

So far in free agency, the Mavs have signed Irving, Seth Curry, Dwight Powell and Dante Exum. Three of those guys are guards, and the other was Dallas' starting center last year that led to the Mavs seeking big-man upgrades this summer. For a roster that now has seven guards and three centers in total, that probably aren't true, starting-caliber centers ... shouldn't that indicate that a trade or two is on the way?

It's no secret that the Mavs have been trying to move on from veteran center JaVale McGee, who simply hasn't lived up to the expectations bestowed on him last summer. Tim Hardaway Jr. has been in his fair share of trade rumors this year as well. And although the Mavs don't want to part ways with young prospects Josh Green and Jaden Hardy, they are two players the Atlanta Hawks reportedly asked for when Dallas attempted to trade for Clint Capela.

Depending on the outcomes of the potential James Harden and Damian Lillard trades, there could be more opportunities open up for the Mavs. When and if that time comes, Harrison and the Dallas front office must be ready to wheel and deal, because they still have some work to do in order to completely transform this Mavs' roster into a true contender.

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Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.