The Dallas Mavericks have been one of the more surprising teams in the NBA this season. They had the look of a team that could make some noise in the Western Conference, but how they have found that success this season has been unexpected.

Now, the Mavericks are 31-23 on the season and trail the Utah Jazz by 1.5 games for the fourth spot in the Western Conference. With a chance to earn homecourt advantage in the opening round of the playoffs for the first time in many years, getting aggressive at the NBA trade deadline could help.

Dallas is currently a top-five team on the defensive end of the court and that has led to a lot of success. It couldn’t have come at a better time, as the team previously has actually struggled on the offensive side of things but has been ramping up as of late.

Given the improvements defensively are not a fluke, the Mavericks could be contenders this season if the offense can return to the levels we have gotten accustomed to seeing them play at. How can they improve offensively while at least maintaining things defensively? That’s the key.

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Expect Dallas to be aggressive ahead of the NBA trade deadline to make that happen.

With teams emerging as sellers, there should be plenty of options available for Dallas to address their needs. Who could they ultimately end up targeting? Here is one blockbuster trade that the Mavericks must pursue ahead of the deadline.