Four Kristaps Porzingis trade scenarios for the Mavericks

• Mavericks get: Andrew Wiggins
• Warriors get: Kristaps Porzingis, Josh Green 

This hypothetical trade would be the best of both worlds for the Mavericks. To say that they struggled with perimeter defense last season would be an understatement. Despite the narrative surrounding Wiggins dating back to his days with Minnesota, he’s morphed into a stellar three-and-D wing for the Warriors. In fact, the small forward boasted a better regular-season defensive wins shares than Kawhi Leonard.

The idea here would be to team Luka Doncic up with a still-young 26-year-old wing who can average 20 points per game and shot 38% from distance in 2020-21.

As for the Warriors, they get a toolsy big man to team up with Draymond Green in the low-post. A move of this ilk would likely require Golden State moving off 2020 No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman, potentially combining him with its two likely lottery picks in 2021 in order to find a starting three. The Warriors also nab a young wing in 2020 first-round pick Josh Green. It could be a win-win for both sides.

Kristaps Porzingis trade to the Atlanta Hawks

• Mavericks get: Clint Capela, Danilo Gallinari
• Hawks get: Kristaps Porzingis, Trey Burke

It’s not yet known what the Hawks plan to do with big man John Collins, who is slated to become a restricted free agent. He was subjected to trade rumors leading up to the March 25 deadline and might actually warrant a max contract offer on the open market. If Atlanta is against that, a sign-and-trade could very well be in the cards — leading to more of a need in the low-post.

In terms of what this would do for Dallas, it gets a defensive-minded big man to protect the low-post. Capela, 27, averaged 15.2 points and an NBA-high 14.3 rebounds during the regular season. Dallas also nabs a veteran in Gallinari who would benefit big time from Doncic’s shot-creating prowess. Prior to struggles in his first campaign with the Hawks, the Italian averaged 18.8 points and 5.4 rebounds on 40% shooting from distance in his previous five seasons.

Kristaps Porzingis trade to the Miami Heat

• Mavericks get: Andre Iguodala, Goran Dragic
• Heat get: Kristaps Porzingis

There’s an idea floating about that Dallas needs to focus more on getting players with postseason and championship experience. A former NBA Finals MVP, Iguodala would certainly qualify. Meanwhile, Dragic has been of interest to Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for some time now. He’d work well with Doncic in the backcourt.

A move of this ilk would be reliant on Miami picking up the 2021-22 options on these two veterans. It’s possible given that the free-agent market is watered down and front office head Pat Riley needs to upgrade a roster that underperformed a season ago. Teaming Porzingis up with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo would be a risk. But the award might outweigh that.

Getting back to the Mavericks for a second. Not only would acquiring these two veterans give them some experience, it would enable Cuban to hit the loaded 2022 NBA free agent class big time with Iggy and Dragic on expiring contracts. Of all these hypothetical Kristaps Porzingis trade scenarios, this might make the most sense.

Kristaps Porzingis trade to the Los Angeles Lakers

• Mavericks get: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma
• Lakers get: Kristaps Porzingis, first-round pick

Do we expect drastic changes for the defending champion Lakers following a first-round exit in this year’s NBA Playoffs? It is going to be hard for general manager Rob Pelinka to do too much given Los Angeles’ cap issues and lack of draft picks to offer up in trades.

That’s why this specific deal could make sense. The Lakers add another big to team up with Anthony Davis in the low-post. They then find a way to create a reliable backcourt with the limited resources the team boasts. At the very least, Porzingis could be a No. 3 option behind AD and LeBron James. Los Angeles has not had that during the King’s three-year run in Southern California.

For Dallas, this would be a coup. It adds a three-and-D wing in Caldwell-Pope, which is a major need right now. Harrell can provide a scoring punch off the bench while Kuzma is still a talented youngster with untapped upside in the frontcourt.