Hello Smash fans, I hope that you all are having amazing days. In this article, I wanted to talk about potential trades for the Unicorn, Kristaps Porzingis. A formal Allstar that still has so much potential. All he needs to do is stay healthy. Without further ado, let’s begin.
Atlanta Hawks
Mavericks receive Rajon Rondo, Tony Snell, Kris Dunn, John Collins, and a 2023 top 10 protected first-round pick.
Hawks receive Kristaps Porzingis, Trey Burke, and Tyrell Terry.
On the Hawks side of things, this makes sense for a few reasons. First off, Atlanta is not an attractive free-agent destination. With that in mind, you will either have to overpay for players or get them through trade. Additionally, John Collins doesn’t have the best relationship with the front office, so he is going to go where the money is and the money will not be with Atlanta as they will not have that much cap flexibility. This trade solves both of the above concerns as you are getting a player that is under contract long-term and you will be taking on under 5 million in cap. Furthermore, you are able to alleviate your log jam at the guard position as you are trading away two of your point guards and one of your shooting guards. This will allow the Hawks to give more minutes to players like Kevin Huerter and Cam Reddish.
For the Mavericks, this trade has a few upsides. First, this trade allows you to clear up 21 million in cape after this year, and by the end of year 2, you would be able to clear up over 33 million in cap space. Additionally, the Mavericks are able to get a different type of big man, so they can see if that type of player fits with Luca. Furthermore, this trade allows the Mavericks the ability to give Luca more rest as you get two more quality backup point guards. Finally, that 2023 first-round pick could be used in another trade during the off-season.
Los Angeles Lakers
Mavericks receive Jared Dudley, Wesley Matthews, Dennis Schroder, Montrezl Harrell, Talen Horton-Tucker, first-round pick swap in 2022, and a top 3 protected first-round pick in 2025.
Lakers receive: Kristaps Porzingis, Dorian Finney-Smith, Jalen Brunson, and Tyrell Terry
Ok, I know this comes out of the left field. However, this makes sense for the Lakers because Anthony Davis is going to miss significant time. He may not have torn his Achilles, but the injury to his Achilles is still serious. This trade will allow Anthony Davis ample time to recover without feeling the need to rush back because the Lakers are slipping down the standing. Additionally, once Anthoney Davis is back, this team will still mesh well.
You can start with a lineup of Lebron James at the 1, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at the 2, Markieff Morris at the 3, Kristaps Porzingis at the 4, and Anthony Davis at the 5. Then after a few minutes, you take out AD and let Lebron and Porzingis play. After a little while, you take Lebron and Porzingis out of the lineup and put AD with the second unit running the offense through him. Furthermore, this trade gives the Lakers a lot of lineup versatility. You could put a lineup out there with the smallest player being 6 foot 9 and run a lineup out there where the tallest player is 6 foot 10 and both lineups would still be effective. Finally, if all goes to plan, you will be good for the next 4 years at the very least which would eliminate the pick swap next year, and then in 2025, you still should be good, so your pick should be in the mid to late ’20s.
On the Mavericks side, this trade makes sense because you are able to get a young piece who has shown potential in Talen Horton-Tucker. Additionally, the Mavericks get an upgrade at backup point guard who can also close out games in Dennis Schroder. Furthermore, Dallas gets two players who play their roles extremely well in Wesley Matthews and Montrezl Harrell. Finally, they don’t only get a few draft picks they could use in future trades, but the Mavs also get a lot more cap flexibility as after this season this trade will free up 25.6 million. Add that to the fact that Tim Hardaway Jr and James Johnson will be off the books after this year, and you have a team that just freed up a little over 60 million in cap with the ability to expand that number even further.
The Boston Celtics
Mavericks receive: Tristan Thompson, Marcus Smart, Semi Ojeleye, a top 5 protected first-round pick in 2022, and an unprotected first-round pick in 2024
Celtics receive Kristaps Porzingis
This trade makes sense for the Celtics because of the personnel they have on the roster. Through that entire roster, there are players that are above average to elite defenders, so losing one will not hurt them making Marcus Smart expendable. Additionally, the removal of Marcus Smart allows Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to play their natural positions in the Small forward and shooting guard positions. Additionally, Porzingis will serve as a third scoring option which will give the defense more to focus on making it harder to stop on the offensive end of the floor.
On the other hand, this trade makes sense for the Mavericks because they get an all NBA defense level talent in Marcus Smart. This will help elevate a Dallas defense that is in the bottom third of the league. Additionally, Tristan Thompson would give you another bruiser that can get you offense boards and play solid defense. Finally, the two first-round picks can be used as trade pieces in the future.
A Couple of Notes
The other two teams that I think could really use Porzingis are the Warriors and the Wizards. However, to make the money work, the Warriors would have to trade Andrew Wiggins or Draymond Green, and I do not see how that trade makes sense for the Mavericks. Both Wiggins and Green have big, long-term contracts, and that is not what you want if you are the Mavericks. The Mavericks’ goal should be to clear the cap not take more on.
The Wizard trade probably wouldn’t go through, either because the Wizards would have to center the trade around Davis Bertans, and if that is the case, the Wizards would most likely need to put 3 or 4 unprotected or lightly protected picks in the deal. And I don’t think the Wizards would want to do that. Additionally, this trade doesn’t make much sense for the Mavericks because they would get worse, and they would clear less than 9 million in cap. This would be an extremely uncharacteristic move for a Dallas team that is usually in win now mode.
Thank you for reading to the end Smash fans. I hope that you enjoyed this article, and I hope you have a great rest of your day. Until next time, PD Smash signing off.