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

[Nowitzki Way]

I am not as pessimistic over the future as some here, because I am optimistic the Mavs will get Lindsey-or-better (and I'm still on the Presti bandwagon, of course) to run the room as they remake the roster. And that all by itself changes the assets available.

How does that matter? If you will remember the way-too-brief period of time when Lindsey was guiding negotiations, and out of nowhere the Mavs were getting the assets on the margins of trades, as they made deals. Never before, never since. We saw picks coming back this way, as a rule, whenever one was outgoing. We saw players being acquired for PART of a FRP (rather than just shipping off a pick or 2 each time). Once Lindsey left, the picks started getting frittered away again -extras tossed into every trade just because Nico was so weak as a negotiator. (THINK: can you believe the MAVS paid a pick to trade Luka, and also paid a pick to take on the grotesque C Martin contract??? How utterly absurd are those things???) I think the potential exists for Mavs picks to GROW rather than shrink, as they rebuild, assuming they get someone who knows what he is doing as a negotiator.

I'll be optimistic once we see who they hire as GM.  There is no doubt that Lindsey was in Nico's ear on getting assets coming our way and structuring future picks the way we did. 

if we can pull of the Lindsey-or-better hire then i agree. I'd love an Ainge type that can come in here with no personal ties to any of these players. Find the highest bids for AD, Klay, and pretty much anyone but Flagg, P.J. , and maybe Lively.  Kyrie is another story. If he wants to go after the other vets go, I'd honor that and trade him. But if he's still on board for a quick rebuild the next few years I'd be ok with that too. I just dont see a reason to trade him this season. Teams will want him to prove he's healthy. I'm not sure he can do that before the trade deadline. 

If we roll with one of the interim guys and bring back Cuban then we might be in trouble.