Sacramento Kings Receive: G Tim Hardaway Jr., C Dwight Powell, DAL 2022 2nd Round Pick, DAL 2025 1st Round Pick (Top-5 Protected, Conveys 2 years after prior obligation to NYK in 2023)
Dallas Mavericks Receive: G/F Buddy Hield, F/C Tristan Thompson
It is possible that the Mavericks could acquire Hield straight-up for a trade package of Dwight Powell, Reggie Bullock and a draft pick, but a different look at this trade includes Tim Hardaway Jr. going to Sacramento.
In the offseason, Hardaway Jr. signed a four-year, $75M deal with the Mavericks to remain with them long-term, but this signing is starting to have some major implications on the future of this franchise.
Due to Doncic, Porzingis and Hardaway Jr. now being on long-term, high-paying deals, the Mavericks are expected to be well over the salary cap entering next season. Being over the salary cap is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is when Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith are both set to become free agents.
The futures of Brunson and Finney-Smith are very much “up-in-the-air” right now and if Dallas wants any chance of keeping them both moving forward, they need to try and open up as much “wiggle room” financially as possible.
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By making this trade, the Mavericks not only upgrade their frontcourt talent from Dwight Powell to Tristan Thompson, but they add a much-needed perimeter scorer in Buddy Hield and most importantly, they save themselves money next season.
Trading Dwight Powell in favor of Tristan Thompson this season saves the Mavericks nearly $10M due to the fact that Thompson is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason and Powell is set to make $11M next season.
It is hard to pinpoint where exactly the Kings are getting immediate value from this trade, but there is definitely future value to be had. Tim Hardaway Jr. may be done for the season, but he is a really solid secondary scorer that they could have on the wing next to De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton moving forward.
Dwight Powell does not hold much value, but Sacramento would be getting a 2022 second-round pick, as well as a future first-round pick for taking on his contract. For a rebuilding franchise, gaining this much future value could definitely pay off long-term.
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The question that remains from such a move though for both sides is if the contract situations of both Buddy Hield and Tim Hardaway Jr. are favorable moving forward?
