Could Rockets, Mavs Work on Another NBA Draft Day Trade?

The Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets may find themselves as ideal trade partners for the second NBA Draft in as many years.

Jeremy Brener | Jun 22, 2023

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The Dallas Mavericks completed a pre-draft trade with the Houston Rockets a year ago for Christian Wood, and there's reason to believe that the two Texas rivals could complete one this year.

The Athletic's Kelly Iko suggested a trade that would send KJ Martin, Jae'Sean Tate and the No. 20 pick to the Dallas Mavericks for the No. 10 pick.

"Hardaway Jr.’s $17.9 million doesn’t look great at first glance but in actuality, it only eats into about $9 million of Houston’s projected space and also gets the Rockets a second top-10 pick in the draft," Iko writes. "Reminder, moving up 10 spots isn’t an easy task so I wouldn’t be shocked if Dallas asked for more. Both outgoing players should bolster a Mavericks team that looks a bit thin in the wing department. Hardaway also is a quality floor spacer who should fit in with Udoka’s plans for this season. But a deal of this magnitude would need to be done before the draft, especially if Houston wants to maintain maximum flexibility on the clock."

If the Rockets were to make a trade up, it could be for a player like Duke center Dereck Lively to help with rim protection or someone like Brandin Podziemski, who is a three-point specialist from Santa Clara.

However, trading up for a rookie could prove costly for the Rockets. The team has selected seven first-round picks in the past two years and could add another duo to that list tonight. If the Rockets trade out of No. 20 for a future pick, it could signal that the team wants to allow the current core of young prospects taken in the past three years to develop without anyone challenging for their minutes.

That being said, a trade up in the draft could allow the Rockets to shed some space in the rotation, and the team could look to add while subtracting.

The NBA Draft takes place tonight at 7 p.m. CT at Barclays Center.

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Published Jun 22, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.