Trade & FA 2024-25:

[KillerLeft]

Milwaukee is shopping Portis looking for a rotation upgrade (probably at the wing).  They are trying to win a title just like the Mavs.  They don't want Maxi or Hardy.

This, and I'm not even sure I buy the "is shopping" part, but might have missed it. 

If he is available, it won't be for matching salaries and draft capital, the way DFS can be had. And, it won't be for comparable players who "we hope they like better than him, because we like him better than the guys we want to send out." Milwaukee is very likely to be looking for a deal that sends someone like Portis, along with draft capital OUTGOING, to get a caliber of player that the Mavericks would never want to part with. The key to understanding this is that they're not looking to move Portis, they're looking to ADD something GREAT, and might be willing to give up Portis in that exchange because he's a bench piece. 

This is why trades don't happen between contenders. To acquire talent, you send FUTURE assets (draft capital) to BAD teams to get their players who are clearly being wasted in their current situations. That's how the Mavs got Porzings...Kyrie...Gafford...PJW...on and on the list goes.