The Detroit Pistons will take on the Dallas Mavericks tonight in a game between two teams that have been connected in trade rumors as the deadline approaches.
The Pistons are one of the worst teams in the league again and have two valuable veterans that just about every contender in the league could use, including Dallas, who has been mentioned in multiple trade possibilities.
The Mavericks have only won three of their last 10 games, and once again have failed to put enough talent around Luka Doncic, who is having an MVP season but currently out with an ankle injury that has him questionable for tonight’s matchup against Detroit.
The Mavs have fallen to 7th in the crowded Western Conference, where little separates the three seed from the 13th. Pretty much every team in the West except the Spurs and Rockets is trying to make the playoffs and thinks they have a chance and the right trade deadline move could be a big deciding factor, especially for a team like Dallas.
The Pistons have stood their ground and said that they aren’t going to trade Bogdanovic or Burks unless there is a “tremendous return” but as the losses pile up (especially after what just happened against Houston) Troy Weaver may be under some amount of pressure to make some changes.
The Mavericks would love to get their hands on either Bojan Bogdanovic or Alec Burks, but do they really have the assets to get it done? The answer is possibly.
Detroit Pistons: Dallas Mavericks trade for Alec Burks
Alec Burks is a valuable trade chip not only for his production as one of the best 3-point shooters in the league, but also his contract, which only has a team-friendly option for next season remaining.
He’s probably not the big splash Mavs fans are hoping for, but he’d be a solid addition for a team that could use more shooting around Luka. The Pistons say they are holding out for a “tremendous return” for Burks, but have never said specifically what that might be.
The thought is that the Detroit Pistons can use Burks too, so there is no reason to give him up less there is something of value coming back, likely in the form of a first-round pick or a promising young player.
Some executives around the league think the Pistons may top out at two second-round picks for Burks, in which case they would almost certainly just keep him. This seems even more absurd after seeing Hui Hachimura get traded for three second-rounders.
Would Dallas give up a first-round pick for Burks? To do so, it would either have to be heavily protected, or the Pistons would have to take back a bad contract, so here is one that might work for both teams.
The Pistons would REALLY have to want to get their hands on a first-round pick to do this one, as Bertans has a horrible contract that pays him $17 million next season and a partially guaranteed $16 million the year after that.
Count me as one who would want no part of that Bertans’ deal, and any pick coming from Dallas is never likely to be a good one, as they are going to be in the playoffs as long as Doncic is there.
A lesser deal would be to send Dwight Powell’s expiring deal and a couple of second-round picks, but that doesn’t seem too enticing to Detroit either.
Detroit Pistons: Trading Bojan Bogdanovic to the Dallas Mavericks
Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Dallas Mavericks may be after both Bojan Bogdanovic and Nerlens Noel, but a trade like that would almost certainly require a third team.
The Mavericks would love to land Bogdanovic, who would be a nice pairing with Luka Doncic and allow the Mavs to go small and surround Luka with shooters.
But trading for Bogdanovic gets even trickier than Burks, as the Detroit Pistons have said they will not come off their demands of an unprotected first-round pick. There is also the same issue of Bertans, who would almost certainly have to be part of it unless a third team was involved.
To take back Bertans and give up Bogdanovic, the Pistons may want more than just one first-round pick, and the Mavericks have a dearth of young players that would interest the Pistons. Josh Green has some upside and Jaden Hardy is averaging nearly 30 a game in the G-League on incredible shooting splits, but both play guard (Green could be a tweener) and the Pistons don’t really need additional guards.
Here’s a trade that works financially, though I’m not sure either team would be interested:
In this trade, the Detroit Pistons get their unprotected first-round pick plus Josh Green in exchange for giving up Bogdanovic and taking on Bertans’ awful contract. Nerlens Noel is a sweetener for Dallas and Powell is just to make the money work.
This deal would likely make the Pistons worse next season, and they have shown no interest in those types of deals, but it would net them three picks (including one first rounder) and a young player with upside, so it’s something they may consider.
This is one of those cases where a third or fourth team would likely need to get involved for both teams to walk away happy, so as much as Dallas would love to get their hands on one of these two players, it won’t be easy.