NBA Trade Grades: Oklahoma City Thunder pick up rookie Isaiah Roby
By Phil Watson
A move to set up a move for Dallas?
The Dallas Mavericks picked up Justin Patton in a one-for-one swap for rookie Isaiah Roby, but the 6-foot-11, 241-pound big man is not expected to spent much time — if any — in the Big D.
Instead, Dallas is expected to waive Patton to open a roster spot, either to sign a big man or to make another trade in which the Mavericks would bring back one more player than they send out.
Patton had played just 24 minutes for the Thunder in five appearances, while playing 23 games and making 22 starts in the G League.
According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon earlier this week, Dallas had reached out to free agent center Joakim Noah after losing starting center Dwight Powell on Tuesday night to a ruptured Achilles.
Sources: The Mavs have touched base with Joakim Noah as they search for center depth in the wake of Dwight Powell's season-ending injury. Dallas has concerns about Noah's health and is considering several other options, including G League and overseas players.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) January 22, 2020
But apparently, it will be Willie Cauley-Stein who will be the big guy in the wake of Powell’s injury, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported later on Friday.
The Mavericks started Kristaps Porzingis at the 5 in Thursday night’s road win over the Portland Trail Blazers, going small with Dorian Finney-Smith at the 4, Tim Hardaway Jr. at the 3 and Luka Doncic and Seth Curry in the backcourt. It was just the 10th start of the season for Curry.
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Reserve Maxi Kleber played 23 minutes off the bench and scored 15 points with four rebounds and three blocks, while Boban Marjanovic was a DNP-Coach’s Decision. That’s been a frequent line for Marjanovic, who played 16 minutes in Tuesday’s loss to the LA Clippers, but has been left on the bench in 22 of Dallas’ 44 games this season.
Powell had started 37 games and played in 40 this season, averaging 9.4 points and 5.7 rebounds in 26.5 minutes per game. He hit 63.8 percent of his shots,. but his 3-point shooting was just 25.6 percent on 1.0 attempt per game. He had flashed some ability to be a stretch big after becoming a starter last season, hitting 44.4 percent on 2.0 attempts per game over the final 22 games.
If Patton is cut, all it will cost the Mavericks is the remainder of his $1.62 million minimum salary for this season. He signed a three-year deal with Oklahoma City in August, but both 2020-21 and 2021-22 are non-guaranteed.
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So essentially the teams did each other a financial solid — Dallas gets a contract that can be cut for minimal additional cost and Oklahoma City trims a little bit off its tax bill.