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

[Dirknows]

Although I'm skeptical about the return DAL can get from ATL in an AD trade, I think it's important to try looking at the buyers POV. Having just gone through a house selling/buying experience last year gave me this perspective.

We have been watching AD closely for a year now and have dealt with all the frustration that went with his tenure. Plus the baggage of him replacing an absolute all-time fan favorite in the process. So we see a lot of the negatives and have to remind ourselves that his still really a phenomenal talent with game changing skills.

But the other team's POV, be it ATL or someone else, sees the stats that he puts up and how it would help their team but maybe discounts the negative issues in favor of adding said potential to their roster. So possibly the return, while not perfect, could be better than we think.

The issue with AD isn't his stats or on-court impact, it's his inability to be on the court. If he was playing 90% of the games since we traded for him, we could legitimately expect a return like the NOP pick. Unfortunately, he always has some sort of minor injury.