Dallas Mavericks: Standing Pat At The Trade Deadline Was The Best Move

Despite the popularity of a trade at the deadline, standing pat was the smartest move for the Dallas Mavericks to make.

The Dallas Mavericks were involved in many talks prior to the 2016 NBA Trade Deadline, and they had a few teams reach out to them about some of their own talent.

Leading up to the actual day of the deadline, there wasn’t much to hear about on the Mavs’ front. Then, early on Feb. 18, a few rumors began to leak here and there.

First off, the Mavs asked about Brooklyn Nets power forward Thaddeus Young, a 27-year-old that they’d had interest in before. In fact, before the Mavs signed Amar’e Stoudemire in 2015, they almost traded for him. Young has been averaging 15.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game this season so he would’ve been a nice addition, but the situation just wasn’t right.

Young’s $11 million contract was something that would lead to the Mavs giving up many role players who they just could not afford to part with. He definitely would’ve made the Mavs better, but cap flexibility and a deep bench was much more important than a spur-of-the-moment trade.

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Another player that was the cause of a few small rumors was Randy Foye, known for his breakout games against the Mavs. Foye would’ve been a nice guard to add to the rotation but Dallas already has enough guards capable of shooting the three and making plays like him. Foye went on to be traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

At 12 p.m. CT, just two hours before the deadline, Mavs GM Donnie Nelson made himself available to the media and eventually announced that the team would not be engaging in any trades before the deadline.

However, rumors were still flowing after he made the announcement. Less than an hour before the deadline, the Mavs became an apparent dark horse for Sacramento Kings shooting guard Ben McLemore. Though the Kings contacted the Mavs about a possible trade, the members of the front office held to their word and stayed away from serious talks.

Another interesting tidbit to add in is that the Mavs were even called by Houston regarding Dwight Howard. Though it was obvious that they were looking to trade Howard, it was interesting that they would contact an divisional rival about a superstar player.

The Mavs weren’t just on the subject of trading for players either. They were contacted by other teams for their young talent, including Dwight Powell and Justin Anderson.

Though they never pulled the trigger, and were smart to do so, it was reassuring for the organization to know that they finally have young guys who are appealing to the rest of the NBA.

Donnie Nelson also made it clear that the Mavs would be active on the buyout market, as expected. With many players not being traded who were originally expected to be moved, there are sure to be many buyouts, meaning they will get the opportunity to improve their team that way.

To sum things up, the Mavs made a great decision choosing to stand pat at the trade deadline.

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First of all, as mentioned above, many of the obvious players that were looking for new homes were not traded. The biggest names that changed teams were Tobias Harris and Markieff Morris, none of which matched the needs that the Mavs were interested in acquiring.

The superstar sweepstakes were off the table for the Mavs as they did not have the necessary assets to offer up. So even if they had made a trade, it would’ve been for an average bench player, someone who most likely would not have made that much of a difference since the Mavs would’ve parted with a veteran guard from their collection.

Next, the Mavs are much better off waiting for players to be bought out. According to Tim MacMahon on ESPN, they are going to have an edge once the first few players hit the market because of their ability to offer more than the minimum. This will be possible since they didn’t use the cap-room exception in the summer.

Some players who are potentially going to be available, like Kevin Martin and David Lee, are going to be much more intriguing than the players that were being discussed at the deadline and would have a much more meaningful impact on the team.

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By not making any moves, the Dallas Mavericks will retain their pre-All-Star Break team. They will now become more focused on the buyout market and they could potentially pick up a piece that helps them move up in the standings and improve on some of their weaknesses.