For two consecutive NBA seasons now, the Dallas Mavericks have lost in the first round of the playoffs, and they really did not make any franchise-altering moves to change this narrative this offseason.
Bringing back both Tim Hardaway Jr. and Boban Marjanovic and signing both Reggie Bullock and Sterling Brown are all solid moves for this franchise, but Luka Doncic still needs some more help.
The MVP candidate is on the verge of having a spectacular season yet again. With Luka Doncic on their roster, the Mavs will definitely be a team to watch in the Western Conference, but it is hard to imagine they are anything more than a team who could win one playoff series.
Quite honestly, they really are not much better of a team than they were last year, especially if Kristaps Porzingis continues to be a liability at times on the floor, so where do they go from here?
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This team really does not have much cap space, and they are going to be tied down financially for years to come with Luka’s big contract extension, but they could make a deal with their in-state rivals in the Houston Rockets.
Houston is rebuilding right now, and they are moving forward with guys like Christian Wood, Kevin Porter Jr., and Jalen Green leading their team, which is why they will be looking to unload some of their veterans on larger, unwanted deals.
John Wall will be a tough guy to move on from since he is owed $91.6M over the next two seasons, but both Eric Gordon and D.J. Augustin could be two guys the Rockets look to move.
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Gordon is owed $58.7M over the next three seasons, with the final year of his contract being non-guaranteed, and Augustin is owed $14.3M over the next two seasons. Still, the final year of his contract is only partially guaranteed for $333,333, making him a very easy player to waive, so a team does not have to pay him the full $7.3M he is set to make.
Dallas is in a position where they are a solid team in the Western Conference, but they still need more talent to “get over the hump” and finally make themselves a true threat.
Could Eric Gordon and D.J. Augustin be two key talents for the Mavs to improve their chances of making a deep postseason run? Let’s take a look at how Dallas can make this trade with Houston work.
