Dallas Mavs Prepare for Star-Studded Showdown with Milwaukee Bucks; NBA Trade Talk

The Dallas Mavericks prepare to take on the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night with Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic, Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo all suiting up. Meanwhile, there are some NBA trade topics that need to be discussed.

Coming off a 130-117 bounce-back win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, the Dallas Mavericks have gotten a much-deserved couple of days off before they take on the Milwaukee Bucks to conclude a four-game road trip on Saturday night.

Aside from Maxi Kleber, who remains out with a toe injury, the injury report is clean for the Mavs, as they’ll have Kyrie Irving back from a one-game absence due to a foot injury. This sets up a star-studded Saturday night showdown with Luka Doncic and Irving facing off against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard — a must-watch for basketball fans everywhere this weekend.

Mavs Injury Updates: Kyrie Irving to Play Against Bucks; Maxi Kleber Ruled Out

On the latest episode of the Mavs Step Back Podcast, we discuss the Mavs’ big game against the Bucks, as they’ll try to do something they didn’t do all of last season — go seven games over .500. The Bucks will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back in what will also be their third game in four nights, but the Mavs have a good opportunity to secure the their 10th win of the season after multiple days of rest.

From there, the conversation shifts to NBA trade talk, including the latest rumor linking Irving to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers yet again. Despite the L.A. media’s best efforts, though, we don’t see them being able to will that scenario into existence. In fact, we believe it’s much more logical for 38-year-old LeBron to join Irving and Doncic in Dallas, if anything.

Dallas Mavericks rookie Dereck Lively II slams home a dunk against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.
Dallas Mavericks rookie Dereck Lively II slams home a dunk against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

As far as other potential trades go, the Mavs should, at the very least, be keeping an eye on what happens with the Toronto Raptors over the next few months. Either of Pascal Siakam or O.G. Anunoby would be an excellent fit in this current Dallas roster, and both could potentially be unrestricted free agents this summer as well, which could hinder their trade value. The Raptors are a middle-of-the-pack team in the East at 5-6, and they might have to hit the reset button this season.

As good as the Mavs have been so far this season, they still might be one solid wing player away from being a true title contender. Ending up with a starting lineup of Doncic, Irving, Anunoby-or-Siakam, Grant Williams and Dereck Lively II? Yeah, that might just do it.

Mavs Hot Reactions: Luka Doncic, Dereck Lively Two-Man Game Continues to Grow

You can watch and listen to the full segment below, and be sure to subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and anywhere else you get your podcasts! You can also leave us a review on Apple Podcasts for a chance to win future giveaways.


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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.