Mavericks must go all-in on Raptors' fire sale after latest trade rumors

The Dallas Mavericks were finally starting to get back on track over the last few days before last night's loss to the Detroit Pistons, and Luka Doncic's return can't come soon enough.

Dallas has dealt with an unbelievable amount of injuries over the last few months including Luka Doncic suffering a calf strain and Dereck Lively II having a stress fracture in his ankle, but the group of injured Mavericks is slowly becoming smaller. Naji Marshall returned to the lineup earlier this week after missing four games due to an illness, and Dante Exum made his return on Friday night after missing every game of the season due to a wrist injury.

Everything is starting to trend up for Dallas ahead of next week's trade deadline, and the team could use the next few days to make a move or two that would cement them as true contenders. While the Mavericks aren't going to panic and make a move to fix their injury problem, they could consider a move to bolster their frontcourt.

Mavericks should consider making a trade with the Raptors

Dallas is looking for more perimeter defense in the frontcourt on the trade market, and one team they should be calling over the next few days is the Toronto Raptors.

Toronto is 15-33 on the year, and they could be a team that looks to make some moves to bring in some draft capital while sending out expiring contracts over the next couple of days. According to Raptors insider Michael Grange, no one on the Raptors outside of Scottie Barnes and Gradey Dick is untouchable, and Davion Mitchell, Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, and Chris Boucher are all players who are "valued with second-round picks" and "could be on the move."

All four of the aforementioned Raptors would fit an area of need for Dallas, with the two most intriguing options being Olynyk and Boucher. Dallas' big man rotation has been battered with injuries for weeks, with Dwight Powell, Lively II, and Maxi Kleber all going down with different injuries, and either one of these bigs would play right away for Dallas.

The only two healthy bigs on the roster right now are Daniel Gafford and newly signed 7-footer Kylor Kelley, and while that could hold up for now, that won't be enough depth inside to compete with the best teams in the NBA over the next few weeks. If the Mavericks were able to pry Boucher away from Toronto, he would give them a stretch big who can knock down open shots, finish above the rim, block shots, and bring excellent energy off the bench.

Standing at 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-4 wingspan, Boucher would give the Mavs a versatile new power forward who can switch some on defense, and he would give Dallas good size and length next to any of their bigs. He would be an immediate upgrade over Kleber, and his off-ball cutting and transition play would be great fits next to Doncic.

Olynyk, on the other hand, would give the Mavs another true five to add to their rotation, and he provides the same floor-stretching ability that Kleber does. While Olynyk doesn't have the same quickness and ability to effectively switch on defense as Kleber and Boucher do, he is an incredible shooter and has a polished offensive game. This season for Toronto, Olynyk is averaging 7.0 points and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 48.6 percent from downtown, and his ability to knock down threes off the catch is undeniable.

His offensive game is smooth, as he tends to make the right decision with the rock in his hands. Olynyk can be used in dribble handoffs, and his high basketball IQ would make him a seamless fit into Dallas' system that heavily relies on the pick and roll and the bigs making the right decision when the ball is in their hands.

Boucher and Olynyk are the two strongest fits of the available Raptors players due to their immediate potential fit into an area that Dallas needs help in, but Mitchell and Brown shouldn't be overlooked either. Both players would provide Dallas with some strong backcourt defense, and it has been well-reported that the Mavericks were interested in Brown in the past.

It remains unknown if Dallas still has this same level of interest in Brown as they have in years past, but it is clear that Toronto might be a good team for Nico Harrison to call over the next few days. They have multiple pieces who can help the Mavericks right now, and landing any of these players for a package centered around second-round draft capital would be a win for Dallas.