After the opening of this year's NBA free agency, the Dallas Mavericks are definitely one of the most active teams. They have made a number of trades in a row, sending away a number of players while also signing a number of players, which can be said to be a further optimization of the team's roster. Here's a rough rundown of a few deals:
Operation 1:
The Mavericks completed a deal with the Detroit Pistons, with the Mavericks sending Tim Hardaway Jr., a 2025 Toronto Raptors second-round pick and two 2028 second-round picks (the exact circumstances are unknown), as well as Quentin Grimes from the Pistons.
Operation 2:
The Mavericks signed former New Orleans Pelicans forward Naji Marshall to a three-year, $29 million contract.
Operation Three:
The Mavericks failed to keep Derrick Jones Jr., who signed the Los Angeles Clippers on a three-year, $30 million contract.
Operation 4:
The Mavericks reached a three-way deal with the Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Hornets and signed Klay Thompson on a sign-and-trade basis. Klay was offered a three-year, $50 million contract, and the Mavericks sent the 2023 Mavericks second-round pick and the 2025 Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers second-round pick to the Warriors. And in this deal, the Mavericks' backup wing Josh Green was sent to the Hornets.
Brief summary:
To summarize roughly, the Mavericks lost Hardaway Jr., Jones Jr., and Green, and also gained Klay, Marshall, and Grimes. The three players lost are almost identical to the three players they gained, in other words, the Mavericks' goal is to think that Klay, Marshall and Grimes will be more capable and fit into the team than Hardaway Jr., Jones Jr. and Green.
However, there will be some concerns about the Mavericks' operation, and Klay's performances over the past few seasons have repeatedly demonstrated that his performance in high-intensity games is not ideal, not only in the 2022-23 playoffs, but also in last season's playoffs defeat to the Sacramento Kings. Marshall's offensive ability is certainly much stronger than Jones Jr., but Jones' athleticism and defensive contribution are also completely incomparable. As for Grimes, although he had high hopes for the New York Knicks, but due to injuries, Grimes' performance last season was very average, even a little bad, which was also an important factor in his abandonment by the Knicks and the Pistons. Mavericks fans are understandably dissatisfied with Hardaway Jr., but Hardaway Jr. can be DNP at any time when he is not performing well or playing randomly, but if Klay is as bad as Hardaway Jr., will the Mavericks dare to press him on the bench?
Then the question arises, the Mavericks vigorously cleaned up a large number of contracts and sent away a lot of second-round picks, but in the end, did they make up for the strength or the weakness?