As the 2022-23 season comes to a close, the offseason for the Dallas Mavericks has already been underway, but things are about to be turned up a notch with the NBA Draft coming up on June 22 and free agency following that on June 30. Following the kind of disappointing season the Mavs had this year, this summer means everything and more for the organization's future.
Outside of just re-signing Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks have a decision to make on whether to keep the No. 10 pick for themselves or trade the pick for package that increases Dallas' chances to win in the immediate future.
On Thursday, The Athletic's Tim Cato posted an article discussing Dallas' offseason which included a proposed trade that would send forward Davis Bertans and the No. 10 pick to the Brooklyn Nets for forward Royce O'Neale and the No. 21 pick in this year's draft.
"Something like Bertans and No. 10 for Brooklyn’s Royce O’Neale and No. 21 could make sense ... It’s not a haul, not nearly the cure-all to this team’s ailing roster, but it exchanges the positive value of the team’s lottery pick for a decent rotation player and the chance at another on a rookie-scale deal," Cato wrote. "But it also removes Bertans’ negatively-valued contract without using another one of the team’s limited number of positively valued pieces."
Though it wouldn't be a flashy move, if the Mavs could get off the remaining two years of Bertans' contract while receiving a rotation piece in O'Neale and still landing a first-round pick in this year's deep draft class, that could be a productive move for the present and the future.
The Nets have an abundance of wing defenders in Mikal Bridges, restricted free agent Cam Johnson, and former Maverick Dorian Finney-Smith, which gives them the flexibility to part with O'Neale, who has one partially guaranteed year at $9.5 million remaining on his contract.
O'Neale had the best year of his six-year career with the Nets in 2022-23, averaging 8.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting a career-high 39 percent from 3-point range. While O'Neale teeters as being an above average 3-and-D wing in the league, he showcased his underrated ability to facilitate this season and would certainly step into a significant role with the Mavs next year.
With the No. 21 pick, there could still be a number of long, defensive-minded prospects on the board for Dallas like Duke's Dereck Lively, Iowa's Kris Murray, Wake Forest's Bobi Klintman, or G League Ignite's Leonard Miller to name a few.
Again, this kind of move may not make the kind of splash that fans are hoping for this summer, but it could be a trade to help enhance Dallas' defensive rotation for next season in what many will consider being a must-win year.
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