Does this trade make sense for Dallas Mavericks?
This trade would result in the Dallas Mavericks taking on an extra $10.9M in salaries for the 2021-22 season, but at the same time, they would be increasing the productivity of their second unit, which is why this trade could make sense for them.
Do not forget either, the Mavericks have a $10.8M TPE from trading Josh Richardson to the Boston Celtics earlier in the offseason, so they could use this TPE to absorb D.J. Augustin’s salary for the upcoming year.
When you look at the Mavericks’ roster as a whole right now, they definitely look like a playoff team in the Western Conference, but there are some concerning holes in their depth chart, primarily in their backcourt. Luka Doncic is their only real ball-handler right now, and behind Tim Hardaway Jr., they really do not have much depth.
Adding both Eric Gordon and D.J. Augustin to their roster not only gives them the depth they need to be a real threat come playoff time but adding Augustin takes a fair amount of pressure off of Luka Doncic because of his abilities to be a primary ball-handler and distributor.
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His entire career, D.J. Augustin’s contributions always seem to get overlooked, even though he is always a very consistent player on the offensive end of the floor. Not only does Augustin not make a lot of mistakes, as his career assist-to-turnover ratio is 2.66:1, but he is a career 37.9% three-point shooter, giving Dallas another perimeter shooting threat.
The same can be said about Eric Gordon, as he has shot 35.5% from three-point range the last five seasons in Houston. Last season, one of the main weaknesses of the Dallas Mavericks was the fact that they shot 36.2% from deep as a team, which ranked them 18th in the league in three-point shooting.
Acquiring two experienced veterans to their team that can aid in the Mavs’ perimeter attack is vital, which is why this trade actually does make sense.
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Long-term, Dallas could easily waive D.J. Augustin next offseason with no major dead cap added to their salary books, and Eric Gordon can be waived after the 2022-23 season with no penalty. This trade with Houston gives Dallas two more players around Luka Doncic they can depend on, which is why they would be smart to pursue one or both of these players from the Rockets.
