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

[F Gump]

1 After that trade, the Mavs are in the same position as they currently are, now though about 4.1 mil over the 2nd apron factoring in Kyrie's rumored extension and Flagg's deal, and have to find a way to cut about 4.1 mil of salary. 

2
1) I don't think PHX would be interested. AD is a bit younger than KD, and there is a Kentucky reunion with Booker, but he doesn't necessarily fix the issues PHX has which is that they are extremely top heavy with a 50 mil dead weight player in Beal preventing them from getting better. Sure AD fills a positional hole for them as a big man, but KD wasn't the problem in PHX. 

3
2) Nico isn't interested in trading AD. I mean, if he wanted KD so bad, why didn't he just trade Luka to PHX for KD? Nico said it himself that he RANKED a list of guys he wanted for Luka and went down that list. Following the rumors, he called the Wolves for Edwards and the Bucks for Giannis, then he called the Lakers. Which means he values AD more than KD.

1 I think the Mavs after a simple KD/AD swap would only be 1.76M over A2 (diff in salaries is < 600K). That's BEFORE any Kyrie redo. That's 14 players, which is all they need. Doing nothing more than move Powell for air as part of the deal (Martin or Hardy are the better answer and offer bigger help, of course), and they are good to go (sign Jones to fill that slot and they are only 219K over with Powell as the salary dump, easily solved by a Kyrie redo). PS - The apron limits get easily solved (despite NTI) by doing such deals in the proper sequence.

2 I think they might, because of the oncourt fit making way more possibilities to win than the present one. Yes Beal is the problem, but he's not really an option for PHX to move anywhere (or they would have). KD is rumored to be on the move somewhere, not Beal, for those very reasons (which means PHX will be looking for a fit.) PHX likely wants to get better and win, not prioritize getting pieces for down the road. AD might be a home run for them, frankly.

3 I initially wondered the same, but it just wouldn't have worked. The fact that salaries change on July 1 changes the necessary moving parts. At TDL, DAL-PHX ran into Apron rules and relative salaries and roster limits. More than that, it also didn't solve for what PHX would have wanted (a big, not a perimeter player), and VERY important, no one thinks Luka and Booker could co-exist (especially on a losing team). A 3-way (Luka to LA, AD to PHX, KD to DAL) actually just multiplied the issues. July 1 also lends easier opportunity for a salary dump on the side to teams with cap room and open roster spots.

As you note, AD wasn't Nico's only (or 1st) choice, but he was the best available at the time. Is he married to AD, or merely talking a good game when he touts him as The Guy? We'll see. But KD wasn't even an actual option then.

Yes I'm speaking as if NTI can see the handwriting on the wall and do something good, and speaking from that wishful angle. Yes, like everyone else, I agree there's certainly great reason to think he would never trade AD even though it's probably the best thing he could do. NTI is called that because he's proven himself to be worthy of the name. But I wanna talk about what they SHOULD do, even if NTI is too stupid to do it.