Luka Doncic’s Mavs Called On to Take Bold Trade Risk

During the 2023-24 NBA season, Bleacher Report identified one major risk Luka Doncic's Mavs must take.

DALLAS — After finishing with a 38-44 record during their 2022-23 campaign, the Dallas Mavericks be more competitive going forward in order to keep four-time All-NBA First-Team talent Luka Doncic happy for the foreseeable future. 

The Mavs entered the summer facing a major need to address defense and rebounding as the team ranked 25th in defensive rating and 30th in total rebounding percentage. A top priority was to re-sign Kyrie Irving, which was accomplished using a three-year, $120 million contract, but regardless, making meaningful upgrades to an underachieving team was essential. 

"I think for us going into the offseason, the two biggest things that we need to work on is defense and rebounding," said Mavs general manager Nico Harrison regarding the team's top offseason needs during his exit interview. "That's going to be addressed."

After trading down two spots in the 2023 NBA Draft order using a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 12th overall pick, the Mavs selected Dereck Lively II. The 19-year-old showed intriguing potential as a future defensive anchor and interior play finishing threat during his lone collegiate season at Duke. Standing at 7-foot-1 with a 7-foot-7 wingspan and explosive athleticism, Lively has the physical tools needed to make his presence felt.

“I looked at [Michael Finley] after we made the first move, and it was like, 'Man, that’s exactly what we played out,'" said Harrison of trading down to take Lively on draft night. "The stress level is like, whew. We did that.” 

With the Mavs' primary center options outside of Lively being Dwight Powell, Richaun Holmes, and Maxi Kleber, a lot of the team's outlook for 2023-24 appears dependent on how quickly Lively can overtake veteran players that do not have the same attributes needed to be a full-time defensive anchor as a starting center. 

The Mavs did add Grant Williams and Olivier-Maxence Prosper to add more defensive-minded players capable of guarding multiple positions on the wing. Prosper, who was selected using the 24th pick in this year's NBA Draft, has a pro-ready frame at 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds after spending three years in college between Clemson (2020-21) and Marquette (2021-23). Any rookie will naturally have an adjustment to make, but Prosper has been talked about often as being capable of being a positive contributor after a few months play out. 

Other moves the Mavs made include adding veterans Seth Curry and Derrick Jones Jr. to short-term contracts to help fill roles. Meanwhile, another goal for improvement is internal development of young talent already on the roster, including players like Josh Green and Jaden Hardy. What else could be done to maximize improvement?

When identifying one risk that all 30 NBA teams should take this season, the Mavs were called on by Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley to make a trade for a "high-end" player at the center position using the team's remaining trade-able assets. 

"The Mavericks had an eventful, productive summer, but the one box that's still unchecked is—literally—a big one," Buckley wrote. "Their center rotation remains entirely uninspiring, as Dereck Lively II may not be ready to contribute, while Dwight Powell and Richaun Holmes have never been confused for difference-making talents."

The Mavs were linked to numerous trade targets to add a veteran center in the offseason, including Deandre Ayton and Clint Capela. However, the trade negotiations would have required the team to part with young talent that Dallas was unwilling to include in a trade package. 

During the 2023-24 NBA league-year, the Mavs remain limited to outright trading a 2027 first-round pick as far as future draft capital as trade assets are concerned. Dallas still could owe the New York Knicks its 2025 first-round pick given it has yet to convey from the Kristaps Porzingis trade. Such an outcome would occur if the Mavs finish outside of the bottom 10 of the 2025 draft order due to protections applied to the pick when the trade was made in February 2019. 

With the long-term vision being that Lively has the potential to be an answer at the center position, there is a balance required of not trading too many assets for a short-term solution that could limit opportunities for the young big man versus risking a lack of short-term success.

The ideal center trade target would then be a player that wouldn't command a major haul of a trade package in return, while also not being signed to a big contract for the next three or four years. Finding that type of player is no easy task and could require the right set of circumstances to develop midseason as teams commit to being sellers ahead of the trade deadline.