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

[KillerLeft]

DAL can’t just take a low ball offer and move on. They’ll still have to sell an AD trade to the fans and I just don’t think Max Christie, Coby White and a couple of FRPs is a sellable return for Luka Doncic. 

Ownership wants a new arena and needs fan support. A new arena in Dallas will be good for the league.

Hey, preaching to the choir! I'd still be ok with keeping AD for a while, honestly. You go to him and say "we want you to be the starting center here, AD. Are you up for that?" If he says yes, you move Gafford for a guard or a pick or both, trade Thompson for a guard or a pick and hope the team improves really quickly. There's a very real chance that if you hit on those deals, get AD and Lively healthy and continue developing Flagg, Christe and Williams, there could be something decent here by the time Kyrie comes back 100%. If you're smart about all of the above and add another interesting piece through the draft, maybe next year is a lot of fun!

If you get a good offer for AD, I could get behind that, too, only at that point I think I purge all the 30-somethings, including Kyrie. In that scenario, I probably keep Gafford, but IF I'm keeping Gafford AND Lively, I'm 100% prioritizing a PICK AND ROLL ball-handler. They don't have to be a heliocentric Luka replacement, but I'm leaning back towards being a spread pick and roll team FOR SURE if Lively/Gafford are my centers. Otherwise, you've basically thrown that Gafford money in the trash, to my way of thinking. 

There probably isn't much point in trying to completely bottom out, because in that scenario you'd need control of your own picks to really do it right. But, if they can choose one of the paths above (I could be talked into either) AND find their way for '26 to be a lottery pick, sign me up.