Trade& Free Agency 2026/2027

[ballsrchr]

@TheDunkCentral
Miami is now viewed as the overwhelming favorite to land Giannis

ESPN’s Bobby Marks trade idea:

Miami receives:
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Milwaukee receives:
Tyler Herro
Kel’el Ware
Nikola Jovic
2026 first-round pick
2031 first-round pick
2033 first-round pick
swap rights in 2029

That's a pretty lopsided trade in favor of Milwaukee.  They should jump on it.

Oh wait! I thought that was Jokic...not Jovic. I guess this is why I'm not a General Manager...or whatever...

[Chicagojk]

I don't trust this guy at all.  IMO, he reads the tea leaves and makes things up.   It would be nice if that was the value of Gafford.  Also, I bet almost a 100% of Pacers fans would do this deal now.

https://x.com/esidery/status/2057804323577270312?s=20

[cow]

That's a pretty lopsided trade in favor of Milwaukee.  They should jump on it.

Oh wait!  I thought that was Jokic...not Jovic.  I guess this is why I'm not a General Manager...or whatever...

The Mavs MBT made similar blunders fairly recently when dealing with the Heat so don't sell yourself short.

[Chicagojk]

Espn top free agents. No Mavs or Mavs listed as best fits for any of players

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/4883...-contracts

[dirkfansince1998]

Espn top free agents.  No Mavs or Mavs listed as best fits for any of players

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/4883...-contracts

If there ever was a year where not having capspace is a good thing it's this year. Thankfully Ujiri seems to be aware of this. This list screams "Free agency is kinda dead".

[mvossman]

Espn top free agents.  No Mavs or Mavs listed as best fits for any of players

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/4883...-contracts

Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu would both make sense here, and the suggested contract is MLE range.

[Chicagojk]

I don't trust this guy at all.  IMO, he reads the tea leaves and makes things up.   It would be nice if that was the value of Gafford.  Also, I bet almost a 100% of Pacers fans would do this deal now.

https://x.com/esidery/status/2057804323577270312?s=20

Should have known not to post Sidery.  That guy is a hack

https://x.com/brettsiegelnba/status/2057...60335?s=61

[KillerLeft]

Should have known not to post Sidery.  That guy is a hack

https://x.com/brettsiegelnba/status/2057...60335?s=61

"The Pacers were serious about Gafford, but the Mavs didn't want Mathurin." 
https://x.com/BrettSiegelNBA/status/2057...38126?s=20

That rings pretty true, honestly.

[Smitty]

Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu would both make sense here, and the suggested contract is MLE range.

The dream. Too bad I can’t like the post more than once. Either one of those guys would be at the top of my wish list!

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Bobby Marks on Kyrie (nothing ggroundbreaking)

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rtH73LcJATI

[RasheedsBigWhiteSpot]

Bobby Marks on Kyrie (nothing ggroundbreaking)

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rtH73LcJATI

Totally agree with Marks. Masai is no Jerry. Jerry by now would've held a press conference and said:

"Well, uhhhhhh, Kyrie is great, but, uhhhhhh, we just don't really feel he...uhhhhhhhhhh, fits Coop's timeline. We'll, uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, be looking to trade him as soon as possible. If someone wants to give us a...uhhhhhhhhh, a 2nd rounder, we're certainly not going to turn that down." 

Reporter: "Do you think you should be openly showing your hand like that?"

Jerry: "Do you like those Super Bowls? I hope you do. I hope you do very much!"
-----‐-----
That said, I think Masai knows exactly what he's doing. He knows that Kyrie is the best chip to get someone that fits next to Cooper, and maximizing his value is to take advantage of other's urgency, while remaining cool like Fonzie.

[DanSchwartzgan]

It isn't hard to find Kyrie Trade videos on Youtube despite Masai's comments about owing it to the team to keep Kyrie.  I had forgotten that Masai spoke with DeRozan just days before the Kawhi trade leading him to believe he was core to the team, so maybe, as some suggest, Masai is just pumping up Kyrie's value.

I've mentioned in previous posts that I'd be a fan of something to Houston built around Jabari Smith.  Same would go for Minnesota built around  Jaden McDaniels (he and DiVincenzo are almost an exact match in a June trade).  The other team that gets a lot of mention is Detroit.  I'd be a fan of adding Holland to this team.  But, the way I want to do this trade is what I want to mention.  Detroit has the option of operating under the cap if they move on from Tobias and use Duren's $19.5mm cap hold until they get their other business done.  Dallas isn't far enough under the cap for it to matter, but if Detroit were to do what I'm suggesting, Dallas doesn't have to fully salary match.  A Kyrie deal for Holland and Duncan Robinson saves Dallas $14.5mm.

Robinson is Non-Guaranteed for 27-28 and could be a valuable trade chip at the TDL (and not worthless between now and then).  I'm not quite as far under the cap as I want to be, so I next trade Klay to Orlando for Isaac.  This saves me $3mm more and gives me another non-guaranteed contract for 27-28 that I can use at the TDL.  I might also make Orlando take AJ Johnson saving another $3mm.  I can accomplish something similar by trading Gafford into someone's exception or for less returning money than his outgoing.

The point of all of this (besides Holland) is I want to get far enough under the cap to go after Payton Watson or Ayo Dosunmu.  I realize we have to give up the $21mm TPE, but I think the dollars under the cap give greater flexibility.  Watson is RFA, but there is a number Denver won't match...probably in the mid 20's.  If they do, then Dosunmu is my guy and Minnesota also has a number they won't go past.  The point being the return for Kyrie could be more than just the direct return from Detroit.  If engineered properly, it can get us to a place where we can go into the marketplace to add another young-ish player to Holland and #9 (or 12 if we were to do the OKC deal for Topic).  You could massively reset the youth movement in such a scenario.

[RasheedsBigWhiteSpot]

It isn't hard to find Kyrie Trade videos on Youtube despite Masai's comments about owing it to the team to keep Kyrie.  I had forgotten that Masai spoke with DeRozan just days before the Kawhi trade leading him to believe he was core to the team, so maybe, as some suggest, Masai is just pumping up Kyrie's value.

I've mentioned in previous posts that I'd be a fan of something to Houston built around Jabari Smith.  Same would go for Minnesota built around  Jaden McDaniels (he and DiVincenzo are almost an exact match in a June trade).  The other team that gets a lot of mention is Detroit.  I'd be a fan of adding Holland to this team.  But, the way I want to do this trade is what I want to mention.  Detroit has the option of operating under the cap if they move on from Tobias and use Duren's $19.5mm cap hold until they get their other business done.  Dallas isn't far enough under the cap for it to matter, but if Detroit were to do what I'm suggesting, Dallas doesn't have to fully salary match.  A Kyrie deal for Holland and Duncan Robinson saves Dallas $14.5mm.

Robinson is Non-Guaranteed for 27-28 and could be a valuable trade chip at the TDL (and not worthless between now and then).  I'm not quite as far under the cap as I want to be, so I next trade Klay to Orlando for Isaac.  This saves me $3mm more and gives me another non-guaranteed contract for 27-28 that I can use at the TDL.  I might also make Orlando take AJ Johnson saving another $3mm.  I can accomplish something similar by trading Gafford into someone's exception or for less returning money than his outgoing.

The point of all of this (besides Holland) is I want to get far enough under the cap to go after Payton Watson or Ayo Dosunmu.  I realize we have to give up the $21mm TPE, but I think the dollars under the cap give greater flexibility.  Watson is RFA, but there is a number Denver won't match...probably in the mid 20's.  If they do, then Dosunmu is my guy and Minnesota also has a number they won't go past.  The point being the return for Kyrie could be more than just the direct return from Detroit.  If engineered properly, it can get us to a place where we can go into the marketplace to add another young-ish player to Holland and #9 (or 12 if we were to do the OKC deal for Topic).  You could massively reset the youth movement in such a scenario.

I can appreciate this as an exercise in contemplating an alternative to a straight up trade of Kyrie. I would be nervous if this was the strategy because it would require a lot of moving parts that would be out of the Mavs' hands:

-- having a FA like Dallas 
-- having the original teams not match (or putting a chair in front of the door, if you will)
-- other teams not gumming up the process 

If there was a deal with Detroit, I wouldn't let them short-change much simply to give the Mavs flexibility (giving up less assets compared to other deals). I suppose I'd prefer a bird in the hand and, then, if someone like Dosunmu wants to sign here, work out compensation with the team. 

The Rockets trade I've seen repeatedly is Kyrie for Jabari, Sheppard, the Nets 2027 and the Mavs' 2029.  It's good to have picks, but I want nothing to do with those players. I feel like Smith is the antithesis of a Masai/Shmidtz cerebral player. And Sheppard is a defensive nightmare. If this was offered, I'd try to reroute the players.

Sheppard to Atlanta for #23 (a McCollum replacement)?
Jabari to a forward hungry team in the lottery?