NBA Trade Grades: Kings picking up Harrison Barnes from Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks

If it wasn’t clear from the trade that paired Kristaps Porzingis with rookie phenom Luka Doncic, the Mavs are going all in on their long-term core. Parting ways with Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews and DeAndre Jordan — three of the team’s regular starters — essentially blew a chef’s kiss toward the 2018-19 NBA season and the team’s dwindling playoff hopes.

This trade only reinforces that patient but measured rebuilding approach, shipping off the team’s other non-Doncic starter and conceding this team probably won’t make the postseason. Luckily, this rapid roster overhaul has been comparatively painless given that Dallas has really only “tanked” for one or two seasons now.

Harrison Barnes is a useful player still in his prime, but he never managed to live up to that massive contract he was rewarded with in 2016, let alone fill Dirk Nowitzki‘s shoes as the next face of the franchise.

That alone didn’t constitute the need to jettison the 26-year-old wing, but in doing so, Dallas has positioned itself to have near-max cap space this summer, opening up the possibility for a superstar signing in free agency.

According to ESPN‘s Bobby Marks, the Mavs should have approximately $30 million in cap room this summer, and it could jump to $40 million if Dwight Powell opts out of the final year of his contract (though he probably won’t).

In either case, the Mavericks are at most one move away from having the space to land one of the summer’s biggest fish. This plan has backfired for Big D in the past, and there’s no guarantee anything would be different with big-market franchises like the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics circling the pond, but who knows? A core of Porzingis and Doncic could be a tantalizing place to start when it comes to attracting free agents.

The Mavs will also get a look at the 23-year-old Justin Jackson, who is only on the books for $3.2 million next year, is shooting a decent 34.6 percent from 3 and has quietly built on an underwhelming rookie year.

Even if this ambitious free agency plan falls through and Dallas has to settle for rotation players, Barnes had no place in the rebuild long-term. He never took the next step to stardom and was a serviceable defender at best, but shedding his $25.1 million player option (which he almost certainly would’ve opted into) is a good play.

The future revolves around Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, and rather than wasting time pretending otherwise, the Mavs are getting right down to business — even if the return for a wing like Barnes wasn’t particularly high in the vacuum of this individual trade.

Grade: B+