Dallas Mavericks Receive: F/C Christian Wood, G/F Eric Gordon

Houston Rockets Receive: F/C Kristaps Porzingis, C Moses Brown, DAL 2022 2nd Round Pick, DAL 2025 1st Round Pick (Top-10 Protected)

Kristaps Porzingis’ struggles with Luka Doncic have been well-documented and the Dallas Mavericks cannot afford to have their 7’3” big man be “hot-and-cold” all season long. He either needs to play at an All-Star-level again night-in and night-out, otherwise, they will have no other choice than to try and move him. 

With three years and $101.5M remaining on his contract, it is going to be extremely hard to move Porzingis from Dallas’ point of view, but the Houston Rockets could be willing to take on his contract. Giving up Christian Wood is not something they would like to do right now, but trading Eric Gordon is. 

Gordon is now 32-years-old and is going to be turning 33 in December, making him a veteran talent the Rockets want to trade. Again, moving Wood is not ideal for the Rockets right now, but he is the same age as Kristaps Porzingis believe it or not. 

This swap of big men may not be the worst idea for the Rockets, especially since they can make Porzingis “the guy” on their team, something he currently isn’t in Dallas right now. Houston would also be adding Moses Brown for more frontcourt depth, which is not a bad addition for them either since he is a young, tough rebounder in the paint. 

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Ultimately, if the Dallas Mavericks are going to try and make a deep playoff push, they are going to have to find ways to add more talent to their roster. Moving Kristaps Porzingis opens up the door for them to potentially be able to add both Christian Wood and Eric Gordon, two key offensive-minded players that could fit in nicely next to Luka Doncic on this roster. 

The longer the Mavericks wait on trading Porzingis, the more his value will continue to decline, which is why trading him before the trade deadline this season is definitely something we could wind up seeing happen.