Mavericks just got handed golden chance to swindle longtime rival in bargain trade

Injuries are never a fun part of professional sports, but unfortunately for the Houston Rockets, they are one of the first teams to suffer a major loss before training camp can even tip off. In catastrophic fashion, the Rockets lost their starting point guard and team leader, Fred VanVleet, to a torn ACL that could very likely sideline him for the entire season before the year can even begin.

While losing a player to a potentially season-ending injury is never a fun way to start the year, luckily for the Rockets, they will have a full training camp and preseason to scheme and build rotations without their star guard. This could not only impact the Rockets and their championship window, but also the Dallas Mavericks, who can now easily find a trade partner to offload their logjam at the guard position for a cheap cost.

Finding a suitable trade partner this late into the offseason is virtually impossible, but if the Rockets feel like they need more depth behind Reed Shepard and Amen Thompson, the Mavericks can easily package a guard to send their way.

VanVleet's injury could force Rockets to become desperate

While it may sound extremely early for trade talk, the reality of today's NBA is that it is never too late to discuss a trade with a rival. With VanVleet going down with a season-ending knee injury, the Mavericks could be the team to step up and facilitate a trade sooner rather than later.

It's unclear if the Rockets are even scrambling to find a trade partner this early into the season, and chances are they will likely ride out the first few months of the regular season before trading for a stopgap guard, but regardless, the Mavericks have the names. From D'Angelo Russell and Brandon Williams to Jaden Hardy and even Max Christie, the Mavericks could have the perfect cast of players to prey on a desperate Rockets front office if push came to shove.

If the Rockets decided to find a guard early in training camp, the Mavericks would probably be more than happy to send Williams their way, as he is on a non-guaranteed contract. Williams' absence would give them an extra roster spot to sign Dennis Smith Jr. While it's unclear what the Rockets might give back in a deal for a promising young guard like Williams, Houston will eventually need to offload a few contracts due to money reasons, and chances are Dallas would be more than happy to take young talent.

To many fans, a trade during training camp almost sounds impossible, and with this in mind, it's very likely the two parties could find a trade early in the regular season or even at the trade deadline. Not only would this open more flexibility for the Mavericks as far as who they could trade, but it may even allow Dallas to extract the maximum amount of value from the Rockets.

A name like Hardy or even Russell could elevate their play to a level where, for a team like Houston that wants to make a run at the NBA Finals, it would make sense to trade a future draft pick or even a valuable roster piece en route to a trade. It might be unlikely that Hardy plays so well that he becomes a trade asset that multiple teams want, but for the Mavericks' sake, that would be a dream come true.

Despite hunting for a championship over the last season and even going all-in on a Kevin Durant trade over the summer, the Rockets have still preached youth, which is why Hardy would make a lot of sense for them. Even if Hardy didn't make sense, the Rockets could easily add a veteran piece in Russell alongside Durant and their young core if the Mavericks' season was falling below expectations.