{"id":754843,"date":"2026-06-23T02:04:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T02:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/754843\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T02:04:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T02:04:17","slug":"trade-talk-a-three-team-deal-with-the-lakers-and-nuggets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/754843\/","title":{"rendered":"Trade Talk: A three team deal with the Lakers and Nuggets"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Mavericks<\/a> are now just hours away from Tuesday night\u2019s Draft, where they currently hold the #9 and #30 picks. This three-team swap adds some complexity to the conversation, so let\u2019s get right to it!<\/p>\n

Once again joining me for this potential transaction are MMB\u2019s Jack Nowicki and Bryan Porter.<\/p>\n

The Mavericks move Daniel Gafford to the Lakers and pick up Cameron Johnson (DEN), Jarred Vanderbilt (LAL), the #26 pick (DEN) in this year\u2019s draft and the #25 pick (LAL) in this year\u2019s draft. Meanwhile, the Nuggets get Caleb Martin (DAL), Dalton Knecht (LAL), the #30 pick (DAL) and the #48 pick (DAL) in this year\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Mike: After Nico Harrison\u2019s infamous dealings with the Lakers, they\u2019re quite possibly the last team I\u2019d want to deal with. The only exception to that rule would be if the Mavs were obvious winners. For that to be the case, I believe a three-team deal like this would be necessary. Here Dallas winds up with the same number of picks in this year\u2019s draft, but much improved ones at that. They keep #9, and make #30 and #48 into #25 and #26. Those aren\u2019t particularly high, but they are a massive improvement. My biggest reservation is helping the Lakers with arguably their largest need, while trading the only center that is currently reliable without moving into the top 20 in the draft.<\/p>\n

Bryan: I hear that, and I\u2019m not keen to help the Lakers either\u2026 which is why we aren\u2019t. Daniel Gafford, in my mind, has an incredibly narrow skillset that happens to match up with Luka Doncic\u2019s strengths, but is nothing special. Getting a first round pick for him rocks. Picks #25 and #26 would be an offer too good for teams looking to add young end of rotation guys with specific skillsets, such as Detroit at #21, Toronto at #19, or Charlotte at #18 \u2013 we would still have a path to a pick in the teens, or could use #9 and #25 to potentially move up to #7 or #8 if none of the lead guards are going to fall to us at #9.<\/p>\n

Mike: This proposal setting us up for a second move solves any gripe I had about not moving into the top 20! Some pick wheeling-and-dealing that sees #25 and #26 turn into one of the #18-#21 range really changes the complexion of this proposal as it stands. If we could swing that one-two punch to end up with a top 10 and top 20 pick in this draft, then I think I\u2019m all out of complaints. Also, with all due respect to him, getting off Caleb Martin is a big win for the Mavs\u2019 wing-heavy team. The only question then is whether the Nuggets real need to shed money is great enough for them to take on Martin and Knecht to do so.<\/p>\n

Jack: Overall, this trade would make a lot of sense if #25 and #26 could be packaged in a trade-up like Bryan mentioned and you echoed. It has been reported multiple times that the Mavericks want to move up in the draft, and having #25 and #26 gives them real ammo to do so. The addition of Cam Johnson also fills a crucial need within the Mavericks starting lineup, as his shooting would pair perfectly next to Cooper Flagg. My only concern would be the addition of yet another older role player, as Johnson is already 30 years old. This trade does make sense for both other teams, but I wonder if Knecht would be sent elsewhere as Denver needs to save as much money as possible.<\/p>\n

Bryan: Knecht also has a team option next year, so they could not exercise it and keep roughly $4 million off their books. Also, I agree Johnson would fill a key shooting role for Dallas this year, then fall off the books for flexibility moving towards the summer of 2028. Ideal preparation for adding a major player via trade when Flagg is due his rookie max extension.<\/p>\n

Mike: Johnson\u2019s shooting is a great point, and really an unsung element to this proposal. He shot 43% from downtown last season and my goodness could this team use a whole lot of that. If he were able to do that here on a Mavs team that would be reincorporating the capable deep threat of Kyrie Irving, it would be a night-and-day difference from what we saw take place last year. His age doesn\u2019t quite fit the bill of a \u201cyouth movement\u201d but I\u2019m a little less concerned with it since we\u2019re swapping 30 year olds (Martin for Johnson) and it seems like an older veteran like Klay Thompson is likely to play out his final years elsewhere. Speaking of vets on the move, what do you each think of Vanderbilt \u2013 is he the price of doing business in your opinions, or does he open up an opportunity to more willingly trade P.J. Washington or Naji Marshall?<\/p>\n

Bryan: Vanderbilt is for sure the toll you pay to add a late first round pick and Johnson for lesser players. Vanderbilt is a good locker room guy, but not someone to be relied upon for more than a good change-of-pace stint at forward once in a while. He would not be in the rotation and would only be on the books for next season and the one after, so he\u2019s salary ballast in this deal and likely another deal a year from now when he\u2019ll be expiring.<\/p>\n

Jack: Vanderbilt is the cost of doing this trade, but I don\u2019t think adding him would be that much of an issue. First of all, his contract is not overly expensive and only has two years left, meaning it won\u2019t affect your books for very long. The other aspect is that he effectively replaces Caleb Martin within the rotation with his defense and lack of shooting.<\/p>\n

Join the conversation in the comments section below!<\/p>\n

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH<\/a> on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball<\/a> for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dallas Mavericks are now just hours away from Tuesday night\u2019s Draft, where they currently hold the #9…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":754844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,269478,459,82],"class_list":["post-754843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mavericks-roster","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/754843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=754843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/754843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/754844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=754843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=754843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=754843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}