Could Mavs Pursue Trade For Jazz Guard Collin Sexton?

The Dallas Mavericks are one of the teams being watched closely ahead of the NBA trade deadline. Could they make a move for Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton?

The Utah Jazz should be one of the key sellers that NBA teams are monitoring ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline. One team that could benefit from making an upgrade is the Dallas Mavericks. Is there room for both teams to benefit from making a deal together? If so, one name worth considering is Collin Sexton. 

Sexton landed a four-year, $71 million contract in the offseason, keeping him signed through the 2025-26 season. The Cleveland Cavaliers dealt him in part of the Donovan Mitchell trade with the Jazz. 

Sexton is averaging 14.4 points and 2.8 assists in 24.0 minutes per game. He's averaging by far a career-low in playing time. However, his per 36 minutes output puts him at 21.6 points and 4.2 assists. He's shooting at a career-best clip of 50.0 percent from the floor and 41.5 percent from 3-point range. 

For a team that needs another scoring threat in the backcourt, Sexton could be an enticing trade option to give consideration. It's not easy to find a solution to fit that mold midseason, but the Jazz not having a contention outlook could create a possible pathway. 

In a recent hypothetical trade piece, NBA Analysis Network crafted an idea that would involve the Jazz sending Sexton to the Mavs in exchange for Davis Bertans and a 2025 first-round pick. From a financial perspective, Utah would be taking on $500K in salary for this season. 

In practice, it would cost the Mavs to move on from Bertans' contract. The potential return in doing so would not be robust. In this scenario, they gamble would be that spending a future first-round pick to turn the spending on Bertans into Sexton will result in greater future trade value. 

There wasn't a lot of interest in Sexton during the offseason. It isn't easy to envision there being a hot trade market at the deadline, but he's a name deserving of some interest. He has been one of the most efficient isolation scorers in the league with the ability to score out of pick-and-roll and handoffs. While his efficiency in these areas hasn't been at his previous levels, he presents another threat that is capable of making open catch-and-shoot jumpers and attacking closeouts.

Defensively, Sexton is a competitive player, but he is far from being a difference-maker on that end. Jalen Brunson could have been described in a similar mold during his time with the Mavs. Regardless, the constant balancing act the Mavs have to ask themselves before making a trade deadline move is: "Does moving a future first-round pick for this player solve our needs?" Is moving off Bertans to add Sexton worth that type of move? 

By moving a 2025 first-round pick, the Mavs would be limiting their potential to make a big trade package to acquire a possible co-star to pair with Doncic. Perhaps there are alternative frameworks that don't involve needing to compensate for the Jazz for taking on Bertans' contract.

If the multi-year plan is for Jaden Hardy to grow into that third guard role, it should raise reluctance to part with a future asset to acquire a guard in the interim. There is another layer for the Mavs to give consideration. Spencer Dinwiddie, 29, is signed only through the 2023-24 season. Dallas may benefit from adding an additional backcourt option in the event of any possible future outcome regarding Dinwiddie's future.

None of the possible layers pertaining to the Mavs matter if the Jazz wasn't interested in taking on Bertans' contract. It's a genuinely terrible value, so it wouldn't be a stretch to say that perhaps they choose to hold onto Sexton instead of swapping him out in a deal of this nature. 

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