Dallas Mavericks trade for Josh Richardson in hypothetical deal: Should they?

Should the Dallas Mavericks make the trade for Josh Richardson?

The short answer here is yes. The Mavs should trade for Richardson. The 27-year-old is exactly the type of player Dallas needs to take that next step toward title contention. The Mavericks can help him rebuild his value while he plays as a floor spacer and secondary creator. Richardson would also be the Mavs’ best perimeter defender.

They would hope to avoid putting Seth Curry in the deal, though. The Mavericks want his shooting and underrated play in Dallas. The Sixers need floor spacing around Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, so the trade is unlikely to get done without Curry.

The defensive upgrade from Curry to Richardson is significant by any metric. The current Maverick finished 230th in FiveThirtyEight’s defensive RAPTOR this season. Dallas needs to make gains there. Fans know they had the best offensive rating in NBA history this season, and Curry was a massive part of that success. Still, they cannot win a championship finishing 18th in defensive rating.

The Dallas Mavericks should make a move to acquire Josh Richardson from the Philadelphia 76ers. He is a fantastic fit and gives the Mavs the plus perimeter defender they are searching for this offseason.

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