The Dallas Mavericks enter the 2025-26 NBA season in one of the most eenviable positions.
Not only do they have basketball’s most recent “generational prospect” in No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg, but their roster is loaded with veteran talent.
Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford have proven, playoff experience.
Kyrie Irving will miss roughly 75% of the season recovering from a torn ACL, but D’Angelo Russell figures to fill-in in the meantime.
After that, though, the depth is fairly thin.
However, one former NBA executive believes Dallas would be better off consolidating the roster, and cashing in some of their veterans to round out the team.
John Hollinger, former Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Memphis Grizzlies and current contributor for The Athletic, urged the Mavs to make a move in a recent appearance on the Ringer’s Zach Lowe Show.
“The thing that would make me more optimistic about Dallas is an in-season trade. They have [Daniel] Gafford on a pretty good deal. If they moved him, moved [P.J.] Washington and got some guards or wings, like true wings. I mean, even Klay [Thompson], you have to put him on fours, so he’s only sort of a wing, right?”
John Hollinger Urges Mavericks to Shake up Roster
With the Dallas Mavericks’ log jam of big men, the most obvious trade candidate is their veteran center, Gafford.
The Mavs are loaded at the five, with Davis, Dereck Lively II and even Dwight Powell highlighting their depth.
Gafford, who signed a three-year $54 million extension with Dallas back in June, could be a key trade chip for a team in desperate need of battle-tested center.
When analyzing Hollinger’s comments, Sports Illustrated’s Austin Veazey offered up solutions for the Mavericks’ front court embarrassment of riches.
“He has pointed out a lot of the same issues some people have with the team: point of attack defense and guard play. The Mavs have faith that P.J. Washington and Cooper Flagg can guard opposing teams’ top scorers. They also have players like Max Christie and Naji Marshall off the bench who can be good defenders,” wrote Veazey.
“Dallas has plenty of people who can play center, but they really need an upgrade in their backcourt. Ideally, the Mavericks can package Gafford with a lesser player on a pricier contract, like Jaden Hardy or Caleb Martin, for that upgrade.”
The Alternative Trade Option
If you had told Dallas Mavericks fans before the start of the last season that a year from now, Luka Doncic would be gone and Cooper Flagg and Anthony Davis would be on the opening day roster they would look at you like you’re crazy.
And yet here we are.
If the Mavericks really wanted to shake things up, they could try and find a trade partner for Davis and find a co-star for Flagg that matches his development timeline.
“Shouldn’t they reset that window?” Hollinger questioned when talking about the Mavericks self-proclaimed championship window following the Doncic trade.
“You got gifted this thing [Flagg] that you didn’t deserve…okay build the team around Flagg now! Don’t build it around the end years of AD and Kyrie. Build the whole thing around Flagg, you can get a ton for AD.”
It’s not a bad idea if you’re Dallas, as Davis and Irving are both on the wrong side of 30 with a dubious injury history.
If you could somehow pair Flagg with a young, ascending star that will develop and blossom in real time with the No. 1 overall pick, you’re setting yourself up for success in the long run.
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