Mavericks have the perfect chance to fleece a West contender with one trade

The Denver Nuggets are reportedly looking for point guard help on the trade market, according to HoopsHype's Michael Scotto, and the Dallas Mavericks should strike while the iron is hot and send them D'Angelo Russell. His season clearly hasn't gone as expected in Dallas, and both sides need a fresh start soon.

"The Nuggets are expected to monitor the trade and buyout market in case a notable veteran backup point guard upgrade becomes available," Scotto reported.

Russell is available, and he'd also be an upgrade to the Nuggets' backcourt. Outside of Jamal Murray, Denver doesn't have many trusted ball handlers, and Russell would easily be a solid addition for them. He has given the Mavericks some positive minutes off the bench, including a 31-point downpour against the Detroit Pistons and three other games of 20+ points.

Why the Mavericks should trade D'Angelo Russell to the Nuggets

Russell has taken a step back since his heyday with the Brooklyn Nets, but he isn't so bad to the point that he deserves to be riding the bench every night. Many Mavericks fans considered the two-year contract that he signed over the offseason as a steal, and he needs the right opportunity to thrive. Denver could provide that for him.

He could back up Murray, lead the second unit, and give them some veteran experience, and they could get him at a good price as well. Dallas is likely only looking for a matching salary for the 11th-year point guard, and just getting him off their books would be a steal for them at this point.

Russell's Mavericks journey has nosedived recently, as he has been a DNP-CD or inactive in 14 of the last 19 games, and Dallas needs to get out of his contract as soon as they can. He is in year one of a two-year, $11.7 million deal, and this signing has quickly turned into a disaster for the Mavericks due to him not fitting in.

Jason Kidd never seemed onboard with Russell being part of his rotation to begin with, and he has been sidelined for the last month or so.

He obviously still has something left in the tank, as he is averaging 10.2 points and 4.0 assists per game, but Kidd won't even allow him to show this anymore. He tried giving him an off-ball role, which worked for a while, but now he has resorted to sitting Russell for entire games.

There doesn't seem to be a way out for Dallas here other than trading him, and talking the Nuggets into taking on his contract would be the best-case scenario for them. Denver wants a "notable veteran backup point guard," and that perfectly describes Russell.

The February 5 trade deadline is just over two weeks away, and as it approaches, we could see the D'Angelo Russell trade chatter heat up. The Nuggets' interest will likely all depend on how desperate they get to find Jamal Murray a backup, and the Mavs trading Russell in any deal at all without attaching draft capital would be a win.