Trade & FA 2025-26: Free Agency Starts 5pm CST/6pm EST

[F Gump]

It looks like we can only afford one of Gafford or PJ and I'd rather keep PJ. If we can use Gaffords salary to get Sexton I'd be up for that. He's now a good 3pt shooter and one of the best PG defenders in the NBA. Send Gafford to ATL, and peices from us n ATL to Utah

The Mavs can afford both, if they wish. The practical hard limit is Apron 2, and with Kyries PO they are a sliver over with 14 players. A redo in which he declines the PO and signs a new deal with more years easily solves that much. They have MULTIPLE players they could move (Martin, Hardy, Powell, maybe OMax) to acquire more flexibility.

Could someone lay out the contract\salary issues in a potential trade of AD for Durant? Salaries aren't off by much, but it's not perfect.

Very true. But not hard to solve. (The bigger issue is balancing value, because AD would have HUGE value to PHX as a complement to Booker/Beal, and much younger than KD.) But one easy-to-see path would be AD/KD swap, and then Mavs send Powell to team 3 (with unused cap room) along with enough cash to pay his salary, and a future 2nd (or 2nd pick swap). That also fixes the need to get below A2 at the same time.

AD. Durant. Two mid-thirty PF types on large contracts with injury histories. Cooper Flagg, the next big thing, 18 years old. A SF/PF. Looks, to me, like the Mavs would want to go younger, healthier, cheaper, as opposed to older, more infirmed, higher priced.

In theory I certainly agree. But the issue is to find that team who has AND WOULD GIVE UP those younger, cheaper, healthier players for AD. For example, someone posited AD to ATL for Daniels, Johnson, and Mann, and of course. I'd love that ATL or any team would see AD as their missing piece whose 2-way presence as a big is just what they are missing AND has desirable young players and some filler to make a legal deal.

One problem with AD is how do you get out from under that deal that runs forever? And what does he REALLY offer, when you have plenty of C/PFs that can give you good minutes? KD deal is also huge BUT it ends real soon, and then I am not FORCED to keep paying 55M or more for a player who sits all the time. Maybe he walks, maybe it's a deal with smaller numbers.

KD is an easy salary match (which is a huge issue with such a high AD salary). He is still a major talent, and he is expected to be on the move. His offensive prowess is a way bigger fit than AD on THIS team. I consider his shorter contract to be a big plus. He doesn't have the AD overlap to clog the roster at C and PF when the Mavs have excellent players there already.