Mavericks' trade deadline poised to take major turn after years of craziness

Over Nico Harrison's first three and a half seasons as the Dallas Mavericks general manager, he has made a handful of franchise-altering trades that have significantly changed the trajectory of the team.

In his first season with the team, Harrison made a trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Washingon Wizards and Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans to the Mavs, and this move helped Dallas reach the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2011. In the following season, Harrison made a trade to make Kyrie Irving a Maverick. While this trade didn't work out right away as Dallas missed the playoffs in his first season with the team, it looks like a masterclass now as Irving has been amazing during his time with the Mavericks.

The trend of making big trades at the trade deadline continued into last season, as the Mavs made two impactful moves at the deadline to acquire P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford. Every trade deadline has been eventful for Harrison and company, and the Mavericks enter this season's trade deadline in a unique situation.

Dallas is 24-22 on the season after yesterday's loss to the Boston Celtics, and injuries have been the story of the season. All five of Dallas' starters have missed time due to injury, with Luka Doncic missing more time than any starter (24 games). The Mavericks have struggled to win games without Doncic in the lineup, and the trade deadline will be the prime time for Dallas to get back on track.

Mavericks' trade deadline plan looks different from past seasons

Doncic is set to return at some point before the All-Star break, and while getting Doncic back in the lineup is bigger than any trade deadline move they can make, Harrison still could make some sort of trade to bolster the roster.

According to Marc Stein (from his Stein Line substack chat), the Mavericks are "looking and calling" on the open trade market, but they are being "far more measured than the last three deadlines." Dallas doesn't have the same pressure on them to go make a major trade as they have in years past considering how well they've played when they're fully healthy, and it looks like Harrison's approach to this season's deadline will be more dialed back than in years past.

The Mavericks have been rumored to be looking to add perimeter defense and frontcourt depth, and while the rumors surrounding who they are interested in have been thin, it is known that they have high interest in Herbert Jones of the New Orleans Pelicans. Jones would be a major upgrade from the wings they have, but New Orleans doesn't want to move him, and he's currently out with a torn labrum.

It seems unlikely that Dallas would add another injured player considering the awful injury luck they're dealing with right now, and the price that it would take to land Jones would be extremely high.

Although it doesn't look like Dallas will trade for a player of Jones' caliber, it remains clear that Harrison is looking to upgrade the roster, it just may not be the groundbreaking type of move that Mavs fans are accustomed to.