Will the Mavs make a trade before the deadline?

[omahen]

PJ is the guy I want too. He can be our New (and improved) Maxi. He has positional versatility on both ends and can both space the floor next to Lively or be the small ball 5 if we want to go 5-out, which we will NEED to be able to do in the playoffs. I even think he fits in a future context next to Omax and Lively. He fits our “two timelines.” 

PJ is just a much more skilled player off the bounce or even as a passer when compared with G-Will, DJJ or Maxi. I think he would unlock all types of lineup combinations the work well together on offense AND defense. He’s on a very fair contract. Career wise a good 3 point shooter with a nice stroke. Not worried about %’s this year. I would trade the 2027 for him with the right protections. Assuming this deal would involve Holmes and a small contract like Seth going out, we hang onto THJ for spacing and a bigger summer deal. Lively, PJ, Luka, Green, Irving, Exum, Hardaway, GWill and a mothballed Maxi, DJJ and Hardy for spark or matchups is our 2024 playoff rotation. DJJ is the odd man out in this equation. Prefer Grant Williams spacing and physicality for the playoffs.

The "problem" with 2027 pick is that it can't convert into 2028 FRP, only SRP. So any serious protections take a huge amount of its value. It means the trading team will get either a bad pick or a second rounder. But if Mavs trade such a pick, they also lose the ability to trade the real value of it. That is why their only realistic option imho is to trade either unprotected or a very lightly protected (like top4) FRP. I don't think PJ is worth that. But, he is for sure worth more than a crappy contract like Holmes and a couple of second rounders. Not sure, can we get some other draft assets back from Charlotte if we give 2027? They don't have any other picks but their own and they are likely not trading that.