3 money-saving trades for the Portland Trail Blazers

2. Dallas Mavericks

Why the Blazers make this trade:

Back in 2016, the Blazers let Wesley Matthews walk in free agency, and he went to the Dallas Mavericks. Now a few seasons later, it may be time for a reunion in Rip City. Portland needs 3-point shooting and defense on the wing. Matthews helps with both those things. He also has a good relationship with Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and knows how to play in coach Terry Stotts’ offense.

At 6’5”, 205 pounds, he can play both shooting guard and small forward. Matthews has been one of the top 3 -and-D players since entering the NBA back in 2010. For his career, he is averaging 13.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 32.8 minutes per game while shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from the 3-point line.

Matthews has one year left on his contract worth $18.6 million and will be a free agent this next summer at age 32. Portland needs to get rid of Evan Turner’s remaining $36.4 million on his deal these next two seasons. He does some things well but is not an ideal fit on this Blazers team. Because Portland is trading Turner, they will have to attach a young asset like Caleb Swanigan and a draft pick. But Matthews is on an expiring deal, knows this city, team, and it would be worth losing some assets to save some money.

Why the Mavericks make this trade:

The Dallas Mavericks are looking to build their team to compete for the playoffs soon, but they are still a few years away. They can take on Evan Turner for an extra season and add more assets to use to build their team.

Swanigan is a young forward who can space the floor, rebound, pass, plays smart and works hard on both ends. He plays similar to Draymond Green and Paul Millsap. Swanigan is mostly just a power forward but can play some small-ball center. He would be an excellent backup behind Dirk Nowitzki, DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Powell and Harrison Barnes. The forward is on a rookie scale deal until the 2020-21 season. Portland also throws in a draft pick that the Mavericks can either use or trade for another talent.

Dallas would be paying less money to have Turner this season instead of Matthews, but he has one more year left on his contract. Turner is a playmaking wing who can score in the mid-range and near the basket. He would be a nice backup facilitator behind Luka Doncic and Dennis Smith Jr. Matthews is more of a spot-up wing who doesn’t make plays with the ball in his hands.

So far in Turner’s career, he is averaging 10.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 0.8 steals in 27.9 minutes per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 30.1 percent from the 3-point line. The former second overall pick, Turner, is a good locker room guy and can be a valuable player in the right system.