Does this trade make sense for the Dallas Mavericks?
Luka Doncic is a sensational, young talent that is going to be in the MVP conversation for years to come and Kristaps Porzingis is an excellent second-hand-man to Doncic, but outside of these two guys, the Mavericks do not have much going for them.
Tim Hardaway Jr. is their third best scorer this season and he plays off-the-bench. Although they would not be getting a key, third scoring option in this trade, they would be upgrading their frontcourt and adding a key rebounding, tough talent in Steven Adams.
Getting Steven Adams at the cost of Maxi Kleber is definitely an upgrade for the Mavericks’ frontcourt, but the question is whether or not Dallas wants Adams at the cost of about $9M more than Maxi Kleber. Adams is owed $35M through the 2022-23 season, whereas Maxi Kleber is owed just $8.65M next season and $8.9M for the 2022-23 season with that part of his contract being non-guaranteed.
The Mavericks have all the leverage over Kleber’s contract and the value on it is quite high right now, whereas they would have to pay Adams all $35M of his current contract, tying down what could be some much needed cap space.
The negative cap hit is definitely concerning in this trade for the Mavericks, but getting Adams is definitely a boost to them in the rebounding category. This season, Dallas has struggled rebounding the basketball, as they currently rank 20th in the league in rebounds per game.
This is why adding Steven Adams could definitely be a positive thing for the Mavs to do, but again, they would lose a lot of versatility and financial flexibility if they were to trade Kleber. He is currently their third best rebounder on the team behind Doncic and Porzingis and his ability to knock down three-point shots from the perimeter is very useful for the Mavericks.
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If the Mavericks want to lock-up things in their frontcourt and get a brute like Steven Adams to bolster their defensive and offensive rebounding efforts, then this trade makes sense, but if they want to have financial flexibility over the next few seasons and they like what they have in Maxi Kleber, then this trade makes little sense for them.
