Dallas Mavericks Receive: G CJ McCollum

Trail Blazers Receive: G Tim Hardaway Jr., F Josh Green, C Moses Brown, 2022 First-Round Pick Swap, 2025 First-Round Pick

Before getting into it too much, this NBA trade scenario is thought of as a mid-season hypothetical scenario. This would be required in order for Tim Hardaway Jr. to be included since the recently signed player exception still applies. This applies for Moses Brown with the recently traded players exception, but that will come to pass on Oct. 1.

In this deal, the Portland Trail Blazers finally make the tough decision of breaking up their high-scoring backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.

McCollum lands with the Dallas Mavericks, giving them the secondary ball-handler and playmaker to start alongside Luka Doncic in the backcourt. They are an excellent pairing at the guard spots.

The Trail Blazers on an extra year of Tim Hardaway Jr. in this deal, but he will help keep them competitive as a secondary scoring option to Lillard. Josh Green is an intriguing prospect after being selected in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft but receiving limited action as a rookie.

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Moses Brown is on the move for the third time in less than a year, as the Oklahoma City Thunder traded him earlier this offseason to the Boston Celtics. The Celtics re-routed him to Dallas as part of the Josh Richardson deal and now he will end up with the Trail Blazers.

The pick swap in 2022 is necessary because the Mavericks do not have their 2023 first-round pick, so they are prohibited from trading their first-rounder in 2022 or 2024 because of the Stepien Rule. The 2025 first-rounder is attached with no protections to help sweeten the deal.

Let’s take an in-depth look at the inner workings of this deal for both teams. Here are why they would do this trade, starting with the Mavericks.