The Dallas Mavericks sit in fifth place in the Western Conference at 23-19. Despite that, the gap between themselves and the four-seed is considerably larger than the gap between themselves and an appearance in the play-in tournament, as Dallas is five games behind the Utah Jazz and two games up on the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers.
With that in mind, Dallas is apparently looking to get in on the race for one of the two standout big men who rumors indicate are available in the lead-up to the trade deadline. According to Marc Stein’s newsletter, the Mavs would like to figure out a way to bring either Atlanta’s John Collins or Indiana’s Myles Turner on board.
Dallas has been trying to get into the trade mix for Turner or Collins. Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith, two low-salaried but highly rated Mavericks headed for unrestricted free agency this summer barring contract extensions by June 30, have no shortage of suitors.
One thing Stein noted is that Dallas might need to find a home for Tim Hardaway Jr., who signed a $75 million contract over the summer, to facilitate a trade. While Kristaps Porzingis has played well for them this season, it’s not hard to see how Collins or Turner could fit in admirably — both guys can space the floor and serve as exciting options in the two-man game with Luka Doncic. Additionally, both players have reportedly expressed their frustrations about their roles in their current situations this season.