Dallas adds another key talent near the NBA trade deadline

When you look at the roster moves the Mavericks made in the offseason and their roster as a whole, it is definitely safe to say that they are still a playoff team in the Western Conference, but did they really get any better? Moving Josh Richardson turned into them getting Reggie Bullock and Moses Brown, but the best part about moving Richardson was the fact that Dallas created a $10.8M traded player exception for themselves. 

With this TPE, Dallas now has the means to acquire a player whose contract is up to $10.8M for the 2021-22 season, meaning that they could look to add another versatile and dynamic player to their roster near midseason and the trade deadline. Who they could target remains a question on how the season as a whole plays out, but the Mavericks also have some tradeable contracts on their roster. 

Dwight Powell is a player on the trade market who is owed $22.1M over the next two seasons, Maxi Kleber is owed $17.7M over the next two seasons and both Willie Cauley-Stein and Dorian Finney-Smith are entering the final years of their contracts worth $4.1M and $4M respectively. 

Moving one of these contracts and saving their TPE for another time, possibly the 2022 offseason, could also be something the Mavericks look to do, but it is worth noting that this Richardson trade exception expires on June 27, 2022, which is four days after the 2022 NBA Draft, so Dallas would have to act quickly in the offseason to use this TPE, should they still have it then. 

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As of right now, the Dallas Mavericks have a solid roster to compete in the Western Conference, but by first glance, they do not have a roster to contend with, which is why they will be looking to add more talent at some point during the 2021-22 season.