Devonte’ Graham – Charlotte Hornets
After acquiring Gordon Hayward this offseason and drafting LaMelo Ball No. 3 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets are in a great position as a franchise moving forward, but they seem to have an abundance of talent in their backcourt. This is a good problem to have, as it gives Charlotte plenty of options rotation wise, but eventually, things could get out of hand in terms of playing time.
The Hornets cannot really play LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier and Devonte’ Graham at the same time without giving up a lot of height and hurting themselves defensively, which is why one of these guys could be on the move, especially since they all have high values right now.
Devonte’ Graham in particular is a guy who could be moved as he is still on his rookie contract and was one of last season’s most improved players. During the 2019-20 NBA season, Graham averaged 18.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and shot 38.2% from the floor and 37.3% from three-point range.
Last year and now this year, he has been used by Charlotte as a perimeter-oriented weapon that they can count on and as a result, he could be just the player the Mavericks need to add to their backcourt.
Playing with a floor general and facilitator like Luka Doncic could be very beneficial for Graham as he has struggled at times in Charlotte when all the pressure has been put on him to make plays by himself and score. In Dallas, he could play off-the-ball, where he can be lethal, and Doncic can find him anywhere he ends up on the court.
The Mavericks need this kind of knock-down shooter on the wing that they can rely on and the best thing about Devonte’ Graham is that he is only 25-years old. He could become a player Dallas looks to build with for years to come and given his natural scoring abilities, could easily be their third or fourth-best player behind Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.
The only question marks about acquiring Devonte’ Graham for Dallas is who they would have to give up to get him because while he is only owed $1.6M this season, his value is very high. On the trade market, he would likely be treated like a guy getting paid $13M-$18M, meaning Dallas may have to be willing to part with guys like Dorian Finney-Smith and Maxi Kleber to bring him in.
If the Dallas Mavericks can make a trade work to bring in Devonte’ Graham, it could benefit them greatly on the perimeter and help bolster their three-point shooting altogether.
