Mavs Trade Talks Escalating... Report Reveals Wild Move | Dallas Mavericks News

Mavericks trade talks continue to escalate as following a pretty eventful past few days in the NBA, a new report has just emerged surrounding the Lakers and a Mavericks trade involving a recently signed wing. We're going to break down this trade and discuss what it means going forward as talks continue to pick up across the NBA, and in this case specifically for the Lakers and Mavericks. But not only that, we have some more great news surrounding Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg and the dynamic between the two as things keep getting better there and some other tidbits on this episode. There's a lot to go over today, but before we get into it, a very quick reminder to hit that subscribe button. You guys can be so support. Jace, there's a lot to discuss today and reports keep picking up surrounding trades with the Mavericks. And obviously at this point, we don't know if they're going to trade anybody, but it does seem like there is still a bit of a log jam or maybe a, you know, abundance of riches in the, in the wing department and an article dropped. Now it actually, and I don't, we'll dive into the trade. I'm not saying they're most likely to, they're not going to trade and they're likely to trade sorry, Najee Marshall, who we'll dive into in a minute, but the package is, is based around Najee and this is the Lakers land Mavericks wing and potential Kaminga fallback trade package. Now the Lakers were heavily involved in the Jonathan Kaminga sweepstakes offered more money. Ultimately he left, he went to a different team, but Jace, this now has elevated the conversation surrounding Najee Marshall, why Najee Marshall could become a Lakers fallback target. Marshall 28 is not the same kind of player as Kaminga, but as a more established rotation forward. So this is super interesting because like I mentioned, Kaminga signed with the Timberwolves, the Lakers desperately want to wing. Marshall fits the bill, but why would the Mavericks trade Najee Marshall right after extending them is the big question. However, there is something to note. They are allowed and it is, you know, they can trade Najee Marshall it's in his contract that they can trade him immediately. So Jace, what are your thoughts on this? We'll dive into the mock trade in a minute here, but just the thought of trading Najee Marshall. Now that we've basically all but been confirmed that PJ Washington is going to remain on the team. Yeah, I think it makes sense for this to kind of start being a topic of conversation just because of what was implemented into the Najee Marshall contract. I still think it's a really good deal for three years, having him just 52 and two 52.2 million dollars. I mean, this is a player that really stepped up last year and performed to a very high degree when asked upon, which obviously last year it was a very different season, but he performed in the way that we would want him to play. So to me, it ultimately does count. Come down to the Mavericks understanding that I do have, I think the best way is the way you put it, an abundance of riches in the forward slash wing department. I mean, we have guys who are arguably wings or forwards in the guard position right now. Like Caleb Martin is more of a small forward. Santiago Lama is more of a power forward, but the abundance of Richards kind of has it to where you can put them around in different places. So I still think that there is a lot for this Mavericks team to kind of benefit from that. But is it the right move to move Najee after you just extended him before even seeing what this team looks like? That's where I think the question has to come in, especially knowing that you're going to get to look at Kyrie and Cooper Flagg and PJ altogether for the first time. So there's going to be a lot of different changes, not to mention the new leadership and new coaching staff. Yeah. And I want to bring up the ESPN depth for a second because it kind of goes to show how different a lot of these are. Now, obviously, in this case, like you mentioned, I had Santiago Lama as a small forward slash power forward. So let's look at it from where ESPN has Najee Marshall and basically has him slotted in as the backup small forward. Now, how high do they view Zachary Shachet? Are they going to play Santiago Lama as at the three, which probably they won't, but maybe they will. I don't necessarily see Najee Marshall being a trade target right now, though it makes a ton of sense for the Lakers. And obviously, we're not a Lakers channel, so we're not going to talk about it from their perspective as much. But they also play together. You can see here, Marshall's also familiar with Luka from their short time together in Dallas. Obviously, very short lived. Luka traded, but it does become interesting. Now, the actual trade that was brought up, I do not like. It is Najee Marshall for Jake Laravia in two second round picks, which are the wizard second round picks in 2031, which are a bit more enticing than probably the Lakers ones. The only way I would do this deal is if there are first round picks involved, because you've got Najee Marshall. He is a fantastic player coming off of fantastic. I don't even know if it's worth trading him. I want to see what the team is like, and that's why these conversations are getting a little bit tiring, but they do make sense, given the way that this team has conducted their offseason. Now, last year, I don't want to call it a breakout year, per se, but a very good season, 15-4 and 4, and really 15-5 and 3. But his three-point shot is a little bit scary, but he is the type of player that almost every winning team has a variation of, and that's why the Lakers want it. But as it pertains to this specific article, two seconds is nowhere near enough. Yeah, Jake Laravia is a cool bench player, but I think Najee Marshall brings not only more heart, but a lot more grit and defensive ability, and just even scoring everything compared to Jake Laravia, although Jake Laravia is a much better shooter. The extension told us what the Mavericks think about Najee Marshall. Now, obviously, they left the door open for a trade, because, as always, things can happen. But giving him that extension doesn't exactly say that, oh yeah, we're going to be willing to move him for a type of package like that. And heck, you just compare the statistics of this past year. He's probably going to play a lot less minutes than when he played this past year, nearly got 30 minutes per game. I'd argue that's probably going to be somewhere around the 20s, if not maybe a little less than that. And you compare him to the stats of Jake Laravia, who was the player getting back, obviously you're getting two seconds on top of that. It doesn't compare. I mean, not even 10 points per game, when he was playing 25 minutes per game. So that's always the thing that I like to look at, is how efficient are you when you're on the court? Laravia was playing four less minutes-ish than what we saw from Najee, and scoring, what, seven less points at least? So it's a situation where I can understand the Lakers' perspective of trying to see what they can get off of Dallas, because let's just be honest, since the Luka trade, there has been Lakers and Dallas trade rumors galore because of the connection and because of the need that the Lakers have and the excess of players that the Mavericks have. So at this current kind of conjunction, personally, I think the best ideology is if you are not going to get a significant piece at guard, then a trade should not be a ginormous discussion. Now, I understand, of course, that's just the way the NBA kind of rolls, is all these trade discussions. But the biggest thing is, if you are going to try and bring someone in or trying to make a move in general, I would have to think it has to bring in a guard, which is hard to say because at the same time, we have high hopes for Richochet. We have high hopes for Sasser. In a lot of ways, I do find this team to be pretty effectively a 2D team. I think you could go down a depth level and still feel pretty confident with the guys you're putting out there. But if you had to look at it from a unbiased perspective, guard is definitely more of a need than a forward. So if you're not going to get that and if you are going to get LaRavia, you got to find a better option. If you were in theory going to trade Najee Marshall, it had to be, I think, for an established good guard, probably back a point guard rather than another wing that is worse for draft capitals. Let us know down below your thoughts on that. One final thing before I wrap up. I just want to touch on this briefly. Former Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd and how good he believes Cooper Flagg can be compared to greats like LeBron James. Cooper's ability is that he's one that loves to win, wants to win, likes to work, and is not afraid of the moment. So shout out Jason Kidd. Obviously, it didn't work out here in Dallas, but he was kind of, he developed really well last year. Put him in a point guard spot. Now him and Kyrie Irving have the ability to go on a crazy, crazy run next year and really just show what Cooper Flagg can do. So let us know down below what your thoughts are on all this. And quickly, before we wrap up, comment down below. This is going to be a tough one. You can see here, who am I? Obviously, this player. We're doing this every day. This player started with the Bulls in 89, finished with the Mavericks. You can see the old Mavericks logo, 1997. Thank you guys for watching. We'll see you in the video tomorrow.