As the calendar turns toward 2026, it is time for the Mavericks to take a hard look in the mirror. What has unfolded over the past year has left the franchise in an unfamiliar position, one that demands realism rather than optimism. Following the seismic decision to trade Luka Dončić, the Mavericks’ interim front office has inherited the difficult task of cleaning up the aftermath of now-fired general manager Nico Harrison.
Even beyond the Dončić trade, many of Harrison’s other moves are beginning to age poorly. The decision to effectively spend two first-round picks to acquire P.J. Washington, the short-term win of landing Daniel Gafford instead of Kyle Kuzma, and the splashy addition of Klay Thompson at a discounted $17 million per season all looked defensible with Luka at the core, or even in isolation. Viewed collectively and in light of where the roster stands today, those moves have left Dallas older, thinner on assets, and short on long-term flexibility.
Winning the Cooper Flagg lottery temporarily altered the trajectory. It injected hope into a franchise that otherwise risked drifting toward several years of mediocrity built around aging veterans and limited draft capital. But even with Flagg in hand, a handful of signings and extensions completed, and a long-overdue front office shake-up, the Mavericks have stumbled out of the gate behind a core that is closer to decline than ascent.
That reality forces uncomfortable questions. The Mavericks are one of the most asset-constrained teams in the league, with just one controllable first-round pick available before 2030, the very pick acquired in the Dončić deal. After going all in to build around Luka, only to pivot abruptly into a roster featuring Anthony Davis, P.J. Washington, Klay Thompson, and Naji Marshall, the front office can no longer afford to operate on inertia alone.
In this post, we will evaluate every realistic option and make the case as to why every player might get traded (except one). That does not mean Dallas will blow things up. It does not mean every veteran is on the move, or that any of them are. It does not mean that two players in one tier are as good as each other. But it does mean the Mavericks must at least explore the market and understand what each piece is worth. Using age, production, injury history, contract status, and league-wide demand, we will break down each player’s current trade value and assess the likelihood that Dallas will consider moving them.
Luck handed the Mavericks a second life when they landed Cooper Flagg. What they do with it will determine whether this franchise stabilizes around a new timeline or wastes the opportunity by standing still. The goal here is not to predict chaos. It is to measure flexibility, leverage, and optionality. For a team caught between rebuilding and contending, doing nothing may be the most dangerous choice of all.
Tier 1: The Untouchable
Cooper Flagg: The Maviercks have one player on their roster who they absolutely should not trade, and that is the reigning number one overall pick Cooper Flagg. Cooper has been the most consistent and brightest light in the Mavericks’ arsenal of lightbulbs, so to speak. Flagg has played in all 30 of the Mavericks’ games this season, averaging 18.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. He has been the only consistent figure in the Mavericks’ starting lineup and has continued to improve throughout the season. His defense and instincts have been the highlight of his game, along with his nonstop motor and flashy athleticism, details and traits that most Mavericks fans have never seen their true superstar have. In just 30 games, Flagg is 4th in the NBA in clutch-time points with 52. He also became the youngest player ever to record 10 assists in an NBA game, tied LeBron James as the youngest player to score at least 25 points in an NBA game, had multiple games with 20+ points and 5+ assists with zero turnovers, which are the only two such games by an 18-year-old in NBA history. Flagg also took home Rookie of the Month honors in November and scored 42 points in a game, the most ever by an 18-year-old in NBA history. Flagg turned 19 on December 21st, and given that he will not be eligible for his first extension for four more years and that he is producing at such a high level at such a young age, it seems foolish for the Mavericks to trade their seemingly most valuable asset.
Tier 2: Quality Assets the Mavs should consider for the Flagg Era
Kyrie Irving: Probably the single most polarizing trade asset on the Mavericks roster, the 33-year-old superstar has spent the entire first 30 games rehabbing his torn ACL from last March. In the preseason, the idea of adding Kyrie to this roster was what made them a perennial finals contender. However, in reality, adding a 33-, possibly 34-year-old, small guard who primarily plays in isolation and is a liability on defense seems like a marginal addition at best to a roster that needs more playmaking and shooting than mid-range and paint finishes, which is what Kyrie thrives on. Irving is on his first of a 3-year, $118 million contract, in which he makes $40 million next year and has a $42 million option in 2027. That, along with his age and injury history, and the fact that he is the best player on our roster when healthy, makes him the easiest yet most desirable asset for other teams to acquire. Kyrie has given a lot to this franchise, including leading them to the 2024 finals. That, and the idea of him playing alongside Anthony Davis and Cooper Flagg for an extended playoff run, maybe even just Irving and Flagg without Davis, might make the Mavs want to keep him. Still, the Mavericks should also consider the return package Irving could deliver.
Derrick Lively: One of the more controversial trade topics among the Mavericks online community. The 21-year-old former lottery pick promptly became a fan favorite in 2024, being the punch off the bench for the Mavs in their 2024 finals run. In 2024, he played in 55 games, averaging eight points and seven rebounds, and was a defensive monster. But since then, he has been the subject of many scary foot injuries, including fracturing his foot in January of this year, which, after he tried to play through it, required surgery this past summer. Coming into this season, he was ready to bounce back and have a healthy year, but he only played in seven games before being shut down for more rehab on his surgically repaired foot. Lively has yet to leap due from his rookie season due to being sidelined. Most of Lively’s games since 2024 have been ramping up from injury games, and you have yet to tell if he has truly improved. There are always flashes, and he definitely has the best personality on the team. It would be tough to let go of D-Live, who the Mavs have under contract for less than $6,000,000 in 2026-27. The upside of keeping Lively is that he is on a similar timeline as your future: Cooper Flagg. The injury history and limited play, along with the cap limitations, make it hard to justify paying and keeping a guy who produces so little, yet is so meaningful to this group.
Max Christie: The often forgotten second piece of the horrid Luka Doncic trade, Max Christie, has built a nice resume for himself to stick around in Dallas. While every small, twitchy guard could have a spot on a team, Max has proven to be a consistent shooter and to be willing to compete on defense and play his role, which deserves recognition. This, along with working his way up to a near 10-point-per-game scorer as a Laker, is what landed him his 4-year, $32 million deal in 2022. Christie is in year two of that deal, which has him with the Mavericks until 2027, when he has a player option. After being traded to the Mavs last February, Christie increased his scoring from 8.5 to 11.4 and has maintained that level this season, while also leading the league in corner 3-point shooting percentage. While it seems most Mavericks fans would like to keep Christie, his skill set is definitely easily replaceable, and his improved production, plus the idea that he will probably leave for more money anyway in 2027 if he continues to improve, might make him worth considering in a trade. The production he continues to have could make him the piece you package to get rid of one of your worst contacts or acquire better or additional draft capital.
PJ Washington: PJ is an outstanding player. Since trading for him, PJ has only become a better and more respected player across the league, averaging career bests in Dallas in points and shooting percentage. Since being traded here, PJ has averaged 14.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 112 games, earning himself a four-year, $90 million contract extension that starts in 2026, making him ineligible to be traded this season. PJ is a tough asset to analyze, mainly because of that extension, which makes him ineligible to be traded, but also because he’s one of the Mavs’ most sought-after players and has a matchable contract. It is also becoming increasingly complex for PJ to thrive alongside Cooper Flagg, who plays the same position and does many of the same things throughout the game. PJ would be the best backup you want on a perfect team around Cooper Flagg, but is paying a backup $22,000,000+ a season to be a backup before Flaggs’ prime worth it? The other part of this is that PJ is genuinely an excellent basketball player who has a significant impact on winning teams when he’s on them. Washington was fantastic for the Mavs in the 2024 playoffs, including being the most crucial reason the Mavs beat the now-reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder. It is also worth noting that the Mavs basically invested two of their first-round picks in PJ. While you cannot trade him until his extension kicks in, the Mavericks should continue monitoring his market for the summer and the 2026 season.
Ryan Nembhard: Ryan Nembhard has been nothing but impressive coming in as an undrafted rookie out of Gonzaga. Nembhard has averaged eight points and five assistss on one and a half turnovers per game. Nembhard, a two-way player, has already appeard in twenty of the allowed fifty games he is allowed to compete in for Dallas, starting in fourteen of them. He has been sloted as the Mavericks everyday starting point guard, beating out veteran D’Angelo Russell, Mavs draft selection Jaden Hardy, and Brandon Williams who assumed that role last season after Kyrie Irving went down. Nembhard has been a revolution for the Mavs backcourt, and has even been recognized by ESPN’s Bobby Mark’s All-Value team, meaning Nembhard has out performed his contract more than almost anyone in basketball. Nembhard has become a fan favorite almost instantly and has also made himself into a lot of teams wishlists when trying to do business with the Mavs. As a two-way player, he probably will not be traded, but if there is an asset the Mavs want desperatly to pair with Flagg, and Nembhard is the asking price, its worth considering.
Tier 3: Good Assets, the Mavs could and probably should be looking to move
Anthony Davis: The current center of all trade speculation not only in Dallas, but for the entire league, and given that Anthony Davis does deserve some credit. After being the butt-end of the worst trade in NBA history, Davis has had a lot to deal with after the unexpected move, and is trying to reignite the fanbase. When the season ticket holders sell their seats and fans have a literal protest because of the trade that was made for you, it’s tough to adjust. With all that, and managing numerous hip and upper leg injuries, Davis has played in 16 of 32 games so far this season, averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds on 54% shooting. Before Christmas, he had a stretch of games in which he appeared in nearly every game since Thanksgiving and scored fewer than 20 points only twice in that span. However, on Christmas, Davis reaggravated his adductor and has missed every game since. Davis will be 33 in March and is in the first year of a 3-year, $175.4 million extension through the 2027-28 season, with a $62.8 million player option. He occupies roughly 35 percent of the salary cap on a roster already pressed up against the second apron, leaving Dallas with no flexibility to compensate for missed production. When Davis is unavailable, the Mavericks cannot meaningfully adjust without him, and the margin for error at the center position disappears entirely. This is the inherent risk of a top-heavy cap structure, where the most expensive player must be on the floor to justify the rest of the roster around him. Given his massive contract and the likely shift of focus to Cooper Flagg, the Mavericks should look to trade Davis as quickly as possible.
Naji Marshall: Since joining the Mavs, Naji has averaged 13.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 102 games with the Mavs. Naji has been the Mavs’ most consistently healthy player over the last two seasons, assuming a lot of control of the offense, especially after Luka Doncic was traded. He is in his second year of a three-year, $27 million deal, a salary that does absolutely no justice to his impact and production, and one that a contending team would value highly. The hard truth with Naji is that he refuses to live up to his nickname of “the knife.” When signing Naji, the Mavs were promised a do-it-all, defensive-minded wing who could play anywhere and score when needed. While he does have his moments and is a really effective scorer around the basket, Naji is rarely the defensive stopper the Mavs need him to be. Additionally, when the ball is not in his hands, opposing defenses barely respect him as a floor spacer, which contributes to the Mavs’ stagnant offense. Naji will be asking for an extension this summer, and probably into next season, and with PJ Washington’s extension, it may be worth looking at his market to see if you can get anything of value for such an impactful player on such a low salary before his payday. He would be a great piece to include to get off of bad contracts like Anthony Davis or Daniel Gafford. It’s a tough thought to think of using such a good basketball player as a leverage piece, but if building around Flagg is the future, it may be worth it in the long run.
Klay Thompson: The biggest free agent signing in Mavericks history is probably at the top of the list of for sure guys to get traded. While there is certainly reason to keep a player who has averaged 13.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists over 102 games in his time as a Maverick, especially one with as much passion for winning and love for the fanbase, it feels like this relationship is long past over. Klay is having his worst three-point shooting season, percentage-wise, of his career, coming off a year that had tied his career worst. Klay is in his second year of a three-year, $50 million contract. The harsh reality is that paying Klay 10% of the cap at 35 years old is, at the worst, the worst he’s ever been in his career. He needs to be sent elsewhere if there’s any hope of squeezing some good basketball out of him. There is simply no point in keeping Klay for him to come off the bench and have one good shooting spurt a night. His production and shooting could be used elsewhere, and the reality is you probably either have to move on from him now or let him play out his contract and lose him for nothing. His contract makes him a complex piece to move, but as we move closer to February, teams become more and more desperate for efficient and consistent shooting, and if there is anything Klay has left, it’s that.
Tier 4: Negative Assets that NEED to go
Daniel Gafford: Gafford needs to go. His time as a Maverick has been primarily positive, averaging 11.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks over his two seasons in Dallas, and he started 66 of his 108 total games. He also led the entire league in field goal percentage during the 24-25 season. Doing this while battling numerous leg and foot injuries and being the starting center on a team that went to the finals is deserving of recognition, and Gafford was rewarded with a three-year, $58 million contract extension that begins in 2026. However, the extension came after Gafford played in just 10 of the final 30 games of the 2024-25 season, and he has since been averaging the worst numbers he has posted since 2022, scoring seven points per game and grabbing less than six rebounds per game in 23 games this season. To go along with that, the Mavs have asked Gafford to be a more critical part of their defense, playing in more drop because of their limited quality POA defenders, and Gafford is not good enough to be the sole rim protector on a team whose defense needs to be elite to win games. Not to mention, since Luka Doncic was traded and Kyrie Irving got injured, Gafford has been simply ineffective around the rim offensively, showing his lack of footwork and touch when given the opportunity in the post. Given a lack of consistent and productive play, and a salary and skill set that a contender could use, Gafford absolutely should be traded.
Brandon Williams: The easiest case to make on this entire roster, Brandon Williams has essentially no value and probably should have never been on this roster. The former two-way player earned himself a shot at this level after the Luka Doncic trade when the Mavs were thin at guard by averaging eight points and three assists on less than a single turnover a game over the last 35 games of the 24-25 season. Williams is a small, crafty guard who likes to play in isolation. He has small spurts where he shows he belongs at this level, including a 26-point game on Christmas against the Warriors. However, his inconsistent shooting, including making fewer than fifteen threes through 33 games this season at a whopping 27% clip, and his lack of productive defense, make it hard to see the long-term value in Williams. He is on a one-year deal that will expire at the end of the season. The other cold truth is that replacing his production is about the easiest thing to do from a roster construction standpoint. Brandon seemingly has benefitted from a thin backcourt over the past 18 months, and you can see with guys like D’Angelo Russell and Jaden Hardy, who have similar impact and play styles to Williams, how replaceable he is.
Jaden Hardy: The case for Jaden is basically the same as it is for Brandon Williams. While Jaden had more reasoning to be on the roster than Williams did, the Mavs moved up in the second round of the 2022 draft to acquire him, but at this point, his roster spot feels wasted. In three seasons, Hardy averages 8 points on 38% from three-point range, but has been in and out of the rotation his entire career, and does not provide much other production. He averages one rebound and one assist along with his scoring output. In the summer of 2024, the Mavericks gave Hardy a three-year, $18 million extension, which he is playing on for the first year. While Hardy is on a good contract and has shown a lot of flash as a spark plug during his time in Dallas, most of his production has come at the tail end of tanking seasons for the Mavs. Additionally, like Brandon Williams, you can see that his role can be easily replaced and has the same level of impact, or more. Hardy’s sizeable salary and young age at 23 make him a good piece to include to get off to a large salary. Ultimately, keeping Hardy wouldn’t hurt, but the Mavs need a real guard next to Cooper Flagg, and if Jason Kidd does not believe in Hardy, you may as well move off of him.
D’Angelo Russell: The “biggest” move of the 2025 offseason was acquiring D’Angelo Russell, and it almost immediately backfired. From starting on day one of preseason to getting DNP-CD’s before Christmas, Russell has been a miserable mess in Dallas. Russell came into the season seemingly slotted to start at point guard, as the Mavs were ready for him to run their significant, big-heavy offense. They needed a playmaker who would be an assist mongol and someone who did not turn the ball over. They decided on Russell, using his relationship with Anthony Davis as additional reasoning. After starting game one of the ppreseason Jason Kidd quickly realized the polarizing on-court cancer that is DD’AngeloRussell. While he has had moments, including 31-, 28-, and 24-point games, RRussell’sinconsistent shooting, lack of defensive ability, and, most of all, tunnel vision have turned him off to Jason Kidd. Russell is averaging 10 points on 40% shooting and barely 30% from three. His biggest issue is his lack of playmaking, as Russell seems to want to shoot every time he touches the ball. For a team with many playmakers and a thin backcourt, Russell had to do so little to succeed, yet he has failed and been buried on the bench. His minutes have dropped significantly since Thanksgiving, going from 25 minutes per game to closer to 15, including four DNP-CDs. Given that he does everything the Mavericks do not need him to do and nothing the Mavs do need him to do, along with the high chance of an Anthony Davis trade, the Mavericks will almost certainly look to move off Russell as well.
Dante Exum: Dante is a tough trade piece, a guy who was not in the NBA three seasons ago, and now cannot find a way to stay on the court. Dante has averaged 8.0 points, 2.8 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 75 games for the Mavericks, serving as a key third ball handler on the 2024 Finals run. Exum, who is 30, is on a one-year veteran minimum deal and almost certainly will not be back next year. While it seems unlikely anyone would want to trade for Dante for basketball purposes, acquiring an expiring salary is something to watch for. Dante also recently removed his no trade-clause from his contract due to his injury, giving a signal that he may be included in a deal.
Caleb Martin: Caleb Martin is on this team for reasons that not even Nico Harrison himself could tell you. The Mavs traded for Martin last deadline for Quinten Grimes and the 33rd pick in last years draft. Martin averaged five points and three rebounds in 19 games last season and this season one point and one rebound per game. Before he was traded here he was dealing a back injury while averaging nine points in 31 games for the 76ers. He is on the second year of a seemily ludicruios four year, $35 million contract, which is, again, absurd for someone who is averging a singular point at 30 years old right now. The Mavericks probably can’t even trade Martin with his ridicoulus contact, but the Mavs should do anything in their power to get him out of the building.
Tier 5: Two-Ways and Non-Applicants
Moussa Cisse: Moussa has had some solid play in limited action through the first 35ish games of the Maverick season. He has shown flashes of potential but still seems like a long shot to be a real consistent and winning center in the NBA. Hes averaged three points and three rebounds in 20 games this season. You usually don’t trade two-way guys, but Moussa does have some real talent that comes with him, so maybe he could draw intrest. If he is a piece that you can include to get off a bad contract, it would not hurt but do not expect him to be moved.
Myles Kelly: Myles has played in two games in his NBA career. A promising young shooter could be moved for salary filler or to help move a big contract. Again, you usually don’t trade two-way guys. If he is a piece that you can include to get off a bad contract, it would not hurt but do not expect him to be moved.
