GM: @CBAMavs

Salary Cap: $166,772,207

Luxury Tax: -$16,505,207

GOAL: Surround Luka with anything better than what he has now!

Priorities

• Try to upgrade talent around Luka, but if unable to do that, decrease the luxury tax bill

• Acquire more shooting around Luka

• Acquire a third ball handler to complement Luka & Dinwiddie (a la Brunson)

• Reminder: Maxi Kleber cannot be traded this season given he signed an extension on September 8, 2022

Players to Dangle

Tim Hardaway Jr. (3/$53.7)

o   Salary: $19,602,271

o   Can salary match up $24,602,838.80

o   He has Miami ties; would they flip him for a better shooter (Duncan Robinson?)

Davis Bertans (3/$49 w. $38 mil gtd)

o   Salary: $16,000,000

o   Can salary match up to $20,100,000

o   Ditto for Duncan Robinson, but does Dallas want to take on that kind of long-term money?

o   Miami desperately needs a four…. Would this make sense?

Dwight Powell (1/$11)

o   Salary: $11,080,125

o   Can salary match up to $13,950,156

o   He fills the void for Dallas big man, but if they can get an upgrade, he could be included in package

o   With Kleber injury, Powell is needed unless they acquire a subsequent big man

Reggie Bullock (2/$20.5 w/ $15.5 gtd)

o   Only trade if it’s for an upgrade

o  Salary: $10,012,800

JaVale McGee (3/$17.2 w/ PO on 2024-25)

o   Salary: $5,461,219

o   Buyer’s remorse on this contract, move off of it if you can

Target Players

• Pure Talent

o  Pascal Siakam & OG Anunoby, Toronto Raptors
o  Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Chicago Bulls
o  John Collins, Atlanta Hawks
o  D’Angelo Russell, Minnesota Timberwolves
o  Gordon Hayward & Kelly Oubre, Charlotte Hornets
o  Jonas Valanciunas, New Orleans Pelicans
o  Jakob Poeltl & Zach Collins, Dallas Mavericks
o  Mason Plumlee, Charlotte Hornets
o  Nikola Vucevic & Andre Drummond, Chicago Bulls
o  Alex Caruso, Chicago Bulls
o  Cedi Osman, Cleveland Cavaliers
o  Alec Burks & Nerlens Noel, Detroit Pistons
o  Saddiq Bey & Hamidou Diallo, Detroit Pistons
o  Kenyon Martin Jr., Houston Rockets
o  Oshae Brissett, Indiana Pacers
o  Victor Oladipo & Dewayne Dedmon, Miami Heat
o  Mitch Robinson & Isaiah Hartenstein, New York Knicks
o  Gary Harris & Terrence Ross, Orlando Magic
o  Mo Bamba, Orlando Magic
o  Matisse Thybulle, Philadelphia 76ers
o  Jae Crowder, Phoenix Suns
o  Richaun Holmes, Sacramento Kings
o  Josh Richardson, San Antonio Spurs
o  Kyle Kuzma & Will Barton, Washington Wizards

• Shooters

o  Bogdan Bogdanovic, Atlanta Hawks
o  Joe Harris & Seth Curry, Brooklyn Nets
o  Bojan Bogdanovic, Detroit Pistons
o  Eric Gordon & Garrison Mathews, Houston Rockets
o  Buddy Hield, Indiana Pacers
o  Luke Kennard, Norman Powell & Robert Covington, Los Angeles Clippers
o  Duncan Robinson, Miami Heat

• Suggested trade: Davis Bertans for Duncan Robinson + limited assets

o  Rationale: Miami desperately needs a PF, they get off Robinson’s money for Bertans, who makes half the amount of guaranteed $

o  Grayson Allen & Jordan Nwora, Milwaukee Bucks
o  Evan Fournier & Cam Reddish, New York Knicks
o  Mike Muscala, OKC Thunder
o  Furkan Korkmaz, Philadelphia 76ers
o  Doug McDermott, San Antonio Spurs
o  Gary Trent Jr., Toronto Raptors
o  Malik Beasley, Utah Jazz

• Third Ball-handlers

o  Terry Rozier, Charlotte Hornets
o  Patty Mills, Brooklyn Nets
o  Goran Dragic, Chicago Bulls
o  Ish Smith, Denver Nuggets
o  Cory Joseph, Detroit Pistons
o  TJ McConnell, Indiana Pacers
o  Russell Westbrook, Los Angeles Lakers

• Would Mavs trade players to acquire Westbrook + assets for future financial flexibility?

o  Kendrick Nunn, Los Angeles Lakers
o  George Hill, Milwaukee Bucks
o  Devonte’ Graham, New Orleans Pelicans
o  Derrick Rose & Immanuel Quickley, New York Knicks
o  Collin Sexton, Utah Jazz

Assets Owned

• 2023 1st (top 10 protected to NYK)
• 2024 1st (top 10 protected if 2023 does not convey)
• 2025 1st (top 10 protected if ‘23 or ‘24 does not convey)
• 2026 1st
• 2027 1st
• 2028 1st
• 2029 1st
• 2025 2nd (to NYK if 2023-25 1st not conveyed)
• 2027 2nd
• 2029 2nd

o   Remember Stepien Rule applies, odds are, you can trade ‘25, ‘27, and ‘29 firsts if necessary

Mock Trades to Date (Feb 2 Deadline)

The Clippers shock the world!

TRADE: 

The Clippers receive: Tim Hardaway Jr.,  Davis Bertans, TyTy Washington, JaVale McGee, Jae’Sean Tate, Alperen Sengun, 2023 MIA 1st, 2024 BKN 1st, 2026 BKN 1st, 2028 HOU 1st (top-10 protected), 2024 BKN 2nd round pick, 2024 GSW 2nd round pick, 2023 first round pick swap with Milwaukee’s first round pick

The Rockets receive: Kawhi Leonard, Jason Preston, Udonis Haslem, BJ Boston, and cash considerations

The Heat receive: Eric Gordon and Boban Marjanovic

The Mavericks receive: Norman Powell, Reggie Jackson, Duncan Robinson, and Dewayne Dedmon

We have a winner for the “which trade we’ve completed that’s least likely to happen in real life” award! I don’t believe either the Rockets or Clippers would do this deal in real life, but this is still an intriguing one. Kawhi Leonard is a tough evaluation for a trade candidate because he’s starting to play like his old self the last couple of weeks after looking like a shell of it earlier in the season. But despite their .500 record, the Clippers still have their eyes set on a championship. I had both the Clippers GM, Yossi Gozlan, as well as the Rockets GM, Cooper Klein on the Bird Rights Podcast to justify their sides of it. For the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard’s knee issues are concerning, and they were able to get a ransom of a package back for him. Additionally, the Clippers saved around $50 million on their luxury tax bill by completing this trade. Steve Ballmer is the richest owner in the sport and I’ve been on record saying going deep into the luxury tax is the biggest competitive advantage in sports, but the Clippers were still mindful of their tax bill. Before it’s all said and done, it’s possible the Clippers trade Paul George too. However, in reality, the Clippers do not control their own draft pick until 2027, so blowing it to that extent is seen as extremely unlikely.

For the Rockets, their goal is simple: lure James Harden back to Houston. With Kawhi Leonard in town, a reunion with Houston would seem a lot more appealing to The Beard and if healthy, the Rockets could become immediate contenders. The Rockets would have ample cap space to bring Harden in, and suddenly a core of Kawhi-Harden-Jalen Green-Jabari Smith-Kevin Porter Jr., in addition to this year’s lottery pick, becomes one of the more intriguing cores in the league.

For the Heat, they basically turn Duncan Robinson and their 2023 first into Eric Gordon and Boban. Gordon is on an expiring deal essentially (non guaranteed deal in 2023-24), and with Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler’s extensions kicking in, the Heat will be in cap hell going forward after this year. Getting rid of Robinson’s contract would’ve taken a first round pick on its own, so the fact that Miami was able to get a high-level rotation player and get off Robinson’s deal all with one first is great management. 

For Dallas, they took on Robinson’s money but got off the remaining years for Bertans, Tim Hardaway Jr., and McGee. They also finally acquired the third ball-handler their system needs since losing Jalen Brunson with Reggie Jackson, and Norman Powell would be a far superior sixth-man than Hardaway was. The Mavericks got significantly better in this deal, and all they gave up was Hardaway, Bertans, and McGee. Excellent business by Miami and Dallas to jump in on a very large deal and both accomplish things they wanted to accomplish with minimal assets.