Mavericks handed a rare chance to make the ultimate wing upgrade

The Dallas Mavericks may have just found the next team ready to ride the Anthony Davis roller coaster. As the February 5 trade deadline steadily approaches, the path of least resistance may lie in the Bay Area with the Golden State Warriors. The Mavs could look to flip Anthony Davis to Golden State for their disgruntled forward, Jonathan Kuminga. The Dubs have already shown interest in Davis, and the Mavs have shown interest in Kuminga as well.

But if a Davis-Kuminga swap doesn’t work, they could trade big man Daniel Gafford instead. Gafford has been in trade rumors all season long, and he happens to fit exactly what the Warriors need.

Davis, or even Gafford, would fill an immediate need for a Golden State team in desperate need of rim protection and a big man who can roll to the basket. And Kuminga would be a young piece with tremendous upside that Dallas could add to a core centered around the prodigious Cooper Flagg.

Kuminga would be an interesting fit beside Cooper Flagg

Kuminga's rocky relationship with Golden State's head coach Steve Kerr appears to have run its course, and Dallas could be waiting for him with open arms. Multiple DNP-CDs this season have left Kuminga disillusioned with his future with the franchise and have led him to demand a trade. A fresh start is just what the doctor ordered, and the Mavericks have the right prescription.

Kuminga is a bit of a wild card in the sense that he’s not the prototypical wing that you would want to align beside Flagg because he’s not a strong shooter. At least not yet. However, Kuminga is still just 23 years old, and there may be a plethora of untapped potential waiting to be uncovered. And at 6-foot-7 and 225 pounds, Kuminga possesses the size and eye-popping athleticism that you can’t teach.

The Mavs would love to see a Kawhi Leonard trajectory from Kuminga. Leonard came into the league as a supporting player who was known for elite defense. However, as time progressed, Leonard exceeded expectations and became a three-level scorer and one of the all-time offensive talents in the league.

Dallas doesn’t need Kuminga to reach Leonard’s heights, per se. They have Flagg for that. But if he follows that blueprint, he could be part of a tandem that would make the Mavericks competitive for years to come.

This would give Dallas another two-way player to play interchangeably with Flagg on the floor, and also mimic Flagg for short stretches when Flagg needs a breather. Similar to what current Maverick Klay Thompson used to do with Steph Curry in Golden State.

Kuminga shot a respectable 37 percent from downtown in the 2022-23 season. He’s shooting just 32 percent from beyond the arc this season, but the potential is there. An offseason fine-tuning and improving on those weaknesses could make all the difference. Dallas also has a freer-flowing offense that will afford Kuminga more opportunities to display his elite athleticism in transition.

It’s not a traditional fit. But it can work if Kuminga is intentional about sharpening his skillsets for the betterment of the team and taking some of the tougher defensive assignments off Flagg’s plate.

Dallas and Golden State will need to get creative to make a deal happen

So how can Golden State acquire Davis? It’s going to be tough. Dallas wants young players and draft capital. Golden State would need to add multiple first-round draft picks with Kuminga and move some salaries around (like Draymond Green or Jimmy Butler) to match Davis’s large contract.

Or, Dallas could pivot and offer Daniel Gafford, along with a solid young player, to sweeten the pot instead of trying to deal Davis. They could even add Klay Thompson to the Gafford mix to facilitate a reunion between Thompson and the Bay Area. The prodigal son could go home to the team that drafted him. Imagine that.

A motivated Kuminga (hungry to prove doubters wrong) would be a nice piece to add for the future, as long as Dallas doesn’t have to give up too much to make it happen. It’s definitely worth a shot. But the shot clock is ticking.