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There remains plenty of optimism surrounding the Dallas Mavericks heading into the second season of prized franchise cornerstone Cooper Flagg’s career. The Mavs may still be in the middle of a rebuild after their disastrous decision to trade Luka Doncic away in February 2025, but having Flagg around means that Dallas should be on the rise soon enough — especially when they’ve surrounded him with plenty of depth.
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But in a loaded Western Conference, the Mavericks may still be a year or two away from being a legitimate playoff contender. The San Antonio Spurs only emerged as a powerhouse in the West in the third season of Victor Wembanyama‘s career, and it makes sense for the Mavs to follow a similar timeline.
The difference is that the Spurs kept their draft assets, giving them the ability to surround their franchise cornerstone with quality young players he can grow alongside with. Meanwhile, the Mavs don’t control their first-round pick until 2030, and they don’t even have a first-round selection in 2031.
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Dallas may want to replenish their asset base by trading away a few veteran pieces who may either be expendable due to other moves they’ve made, or those who don’t necessarily fit their contending timeline.
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It is important to note that nothing is imminent on the trade front for the Mavs. But heading into training camp, the front office has to at least weigh the possibility of trading away these three players at some point in the 2026-27 campaign.
It seems terrible for the Mavericks to entertain the idea of having to trade Kyrie Irving away. After all, it’s the franchise’s confidence in Irving to be the lead guard that encouraged them to trade Doncic in the first place.
Moreover, they waited patiently for his return from a torn ACL, and he looks ready to get back to being at his best now that the dust has settled on the major transition the Mavs roster went through from the last time he suited up on an NBA court.
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The Mavs clearly needed Irving last season as they rotated through a huge cast of point guards whom they looked to for some assurance in that role. None of those players stuck around. Brandon Williams is with the Golden State Warriors now. Ryan Nembhard, who had quite the feel-good story last season, was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in the Zaccharie Risacher deal.
Even with Irving coming off a torn ACL, he’s better than any of the Mavericks’ options at that position. The team’s other point guard options, Marcus Sasser and rookie Sergio de Larrea, are most certainly not the answer at the position quite yet.
Dallas would most certainly would want to see how Irving and Flagg play off of each other, especially with a new brain trust at the helm. Mavs president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri knows the value of having quality veterans raise the overall level of play of a rebuilding team.
Suffice to say, the Mavs shouldn’t be in a hurry to shop Irving around. But there are some concerns the team has to take into consideration.
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For starters, Irving is coming off a knee injury, and while modern medicine has advanced to the point where professional athletes can come back from these long-term injuries as if nothing had happened to them, history has not been kind to guards who suffer such injuries.
Moreover, Irving is already 34 years of age (he’ll be turning 35 in March), and there’s always the concern that the combination of his injury history and him being on the wrong side of the aging curve would mean that a decline may be in the near future.
There’s also the fact that Irving may not be a fit for the Mavs’ contending timeline. It’s not quite clear when Dallas will return to winning ways. Maybe Irving would want to latch on with a contender. He’s also approaching free agency (he has a player option worth $42.4 million), and the Mavs may want to get ahead of that situation by trading him to recoup some assets.
At the end of the day, it makes more sense for the Mavericks to keep Irving around. They should at least be able to threaten for a spot in the play-in tournament. But their front office has to keep an open mind in this situation; if the right offer comes, they may want to pull the trigger.
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Gafford was a fixture in trade rumors last year as the Mavericks pondered whether or not to trade away the 27-year-old center. In the end, Dallas kept Gafford, who was three more seasons left on his contract for around $60 million.
It’s not quite clear which team would want to trade for Gafford. But Mavs fans have to expect that his name will be bandied around in rumors once more. After all, the Mavs still have Dereck Lively II, they drafted Morez Johnson Jr., a favorite for new head coach Dusty May back during their time together in Michigan, and they traded for Santi Aldama.
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The center spot looks very crowded out there in Dallas. Gafford is still a quality lob threat and shot blocker, and he’s a good player to have for any team that’s heavily reliant on pick-and-rolls. The hold-up may be his contract that runs for three more years, but that should not be a huge problem for any team looking to upgrade its center situation.
Last season, Gafford averaged 9.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 55 games played.
Martin did suit up in 58 games for the Mavericks last season, but he played just 14.8 minutes per contest, averaging 3.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists. That is rather telling of his place in the team’s depth chart.
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It does not help whatsoever that Dallas has a few players on the wings who warrant more minutes than he does, namely Max Christie and Naji Marshall. Even Risacher might be prioritized in Dallas, with the Mavs looking to reclaim the former first overall pick.
Martin is making $10 million this year, and he has a player option worth $9.3 million for the 2027-28 season that he most likely would accept. The Mavs will be fortunate if they find a taker for him.
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