Mavericks fan-favorite big denies rumor that could cause devastating trade blow

The Dallas Mavericks have a lot more tinkering to do when it comes to managing their roster ahead of next season, but that task became drastically easier when the Mavericks won the NBA Draft Lottery a little over a week ago despite having just a 1.8 percent chance at landing the No. 1 overall pick. This was the first time Dallas ever moved up in the lottery in franchise history, and fans will certainly enjoy this string of good luck after how rough the last few months have been for the organization.

Getting the No. 1 pick essentially means getting Cooper Flagg, as the 18-year-old standout from Duke University is the consensus first overall pick in this year's draft, and the Mavericks are already enamored by the prospect of adding Flagg to their current roster. Flagg adds to a Dallas front court that already exhibits great positional size, so while Flagg can play a multitude of positions, Dallas may need to move off another member in their front court to avoid creating a logjam.

The most popular rumored name amongst Mavs fans, as far as a player the Mavericks could try and consolidate from their frontcourt onto the trade market in hopes of getting a guard back, is none other than Daniel Gafford. Gafford has been a fan-favorite in Dallas thus far, but he's entering a contract year, and the Mavericks already have an extremely crowded frontcourt that Flagg is only adding to, not to mention Dallas could probably bring back Kai Jones for much cheaper.

Daniel Gafford denied he's eyeing a huge pay raise on Discord

While Dallas could look to ship out P.J. Washington instead, Gafford would probably be the smartest option to trade considering how deep Dallas' center pool is, as well as the fact that wings are oftentimes more versatile and playable in today's NBA. Despite this, though, Gafford denied a recent report from ESPN while on Discord, as Gafford wrote, "Let us not dwell into the false social media post. Nothing on the post was said out of my mouth. I hate when they do this."

This was in response to a report by ESPN saying that Gafford wants to be paid starting center money, presumably in a potential extension this summer, but Gafford vehemently denied these rumors, even going further into the subject on Discord.

"A lot of false info is spread around this time of the season," Gafford wrote. "Never really pay attention to it. It spreads rumors. Rumors lead to tension in the workplace. Something [I'd] rather not have around my name. Very sad how low the media stoops just to get some clicks."

Clearly, Gafford is playing one of two agendas in this instance, though he's being a consummate professional through all of this, which can be applauded. Gafford doesn't live under a rock and certainly has heard of the trade rumors surrounding his name recently, so if he's operating under the impression that he won't get traded and will stay in Dallas on a reasonable contract, then what he said on Discord 100 percent reflects his true feelings on the situation.

However, if Gafford knows there's a decent chance he's going to be traded, the worst thing he could do for himself would be to drive down his value by openly demanding more money online or bashing his incumbent team on Discord. It'd be far more surprising to see Gafford denounce the Mavericks or their front office, especially considering how little non-playoff players talk this time of year, so the Mavericks can be glad Gafford didn't say anything incriminating about the organization and is keeping the good vibes up.

In all likelihood, Gafford and the Mavericks probably haven't come to a full fledged decision in regard to if he's getting an extension this summer or getting traded yet, as getting Flagg opens up a ton of different possibilities for the Mavericks in regard to roster building and the Mavericks have proven to not shy away from playing huge lineups. Nothing is certain, but Gafford seems like the best choice to trade away if Dallas wants to add guard depth without sacrificing any lineup versatility, but only time will tell in regard to which avenue Dallas chooses to accomplish that task ahead of next season.