With Kristaps Porzingis healthy again and back in the starting lineup and other key role players returning from health and safety protocols, the Dallas Mavericks should start to look like one of the better teams in the Western Conference. Not to mention, that guy Luka Doncic is pretty good at basketball and could wind up winning the NBA MVP award this season.
Through 16 games, Luka Doncic is averaging 27.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, 9.9 assists and is shooting 45.8% from the floor. The only flaw in his game this season is his three-point shooting, which is 28.4% right now. If the Mavs are to be legit title contenders, they will need Luka to improve from the perimeter, but that is a minor flaw in the grand scheme of things.
When looking at this Dallas Mavericks team, they obviously have their All-Star duo in Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, but the biggest question mark revolves around who will step up around these two guys? Tim Hardaway Jr. has had a strong start to the season shooting the ball and they brought in Josh Richardson this past offseason, but are either of these two guys capable of being that “third reliable option?”
Shooting was a big success of this Mavericks team last year and while they have some new faces this NBA season, they still need to add some scoring/shooting depth on the wing if they are to be as successful as they hope. Fully healthy last year, Dallas had a legit shot to potentially take down the Clippers, but without adding another shooter, this team is going to struggle to make the playoffs at this rate!
While some players would be hard to get compared to others, there are plenty of perimeter-oriented players that could become available via trade, giving the Mavericks a prime opportunity to improve their roster before the NBA trade deadline comes and goes.
With the abundance of talent in the Hornets backcourt and his struggles to begin the year, could Charlotte potentially look to trade away Devonte’ Graham? He is only owed $1.6M this season, making him basically free for the Mavericks to trade for financially, and is a high-level scorer that could have a big impact next to Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.
Let’s take a look at a potential trade between the Dallas Mavericks and the Charlotte Hornets that would send the sharpshooting Graham to the Mavs.
