Mavericks' offseason revamp still needs two more trades before it's complete

The Dallas Mavericks have been busy this offseason. They added a new general manager, president of basketball operations, and head coach, all while making multiple trades and coming away with four players in the 2026 NBA Draft. Their roster looks completely revamped compared to how it looked at the end of last season, but the team still has two more trades they should make before the summer is over.

They should look to trade both Daniel Gafford and Klay Thompson.

Why trading Klay Thompson makes sense for the Mavericks

Dallas signed Thompson to a three-year contract in the summer of 2024, but his time hasn't gone according to plan. He's still playing at a high level, averaging 12.9 points per game while shooting 38.7 percent from three over his two seasons as a Maverick, but the situation that the team is in is far different from what he expected.

Thompson signed with Dallas to team up with Luka Doncic and chase his fifth NBA championship, and he's no longer able to do either of those things. Doncic was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in the middle of Thompson's first season with the Mavs, and Dallas isn't in a position to contend for a title right now.

Masai Ujiri has already said that the Mavericks aren't going to skip any steps as they prepare for a future centered around Cooper Flagg, and this is why it makes the most sense to trade Thompson before the start of next season. He turns 37 years old in the middle of next season, and he fits much better on a playoff team rather than one trying to build around a teenager.

Dallas has been shopping Thompson all offseason, and with the Miami Heat showing strong interest in him, it seems like a trade could be on the way before training camp. The team has also not shown interest in buying him out, clearly focusing on finding a trade before cutting the five-time All-Star loose.

A Thompson trade would please both sides, as it would allow him to play for a contender while opening up the Mavericks' rotation to give more minutes to younger players.

Why the end could be near for Daniel Gafford

Gafford is in a different position than Thompson, as he's just 27 years old, but the team should try to move him if they can as well. Dallas has a massive logjam in the frontcourt they need to figure out, and the easiest way to clear it would be trading Gafford.

Such a move allows Dereck Lively II to remain the starting big man and opens up extra developmental minutes for Moussa Cisse and Morez Johnson Jr. Like Thompson, Dallas has been shopping Gafford all summer, and a trade seems likely considering that the team has been open to trading him for multiple years now.

He remains an effective back up big man, as he averaged 9.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game last season, but the Mavericks would benefit from moving on. Gafford is the odd man out, as Lively II is just 22 years old and the team just re-signed Cisse and drafted Johnson Jr. this offseason.

They also traded for Santi Aldama, who has real stretch-five potential, and the front office can't enter next season without clearing up some minutes at center. The most logical way to do this would be trading Gafford.

What these two trades could look like

The Mavericks' offseason won't be complete until they settle their roster crunch, as they have 16 players signed to standard contracts when the limit is 15. A consolidation trade with Gafford for just draft capital, likely a first-round pick, would be ideal, along with a one-for-one swap for Thompson that includes a younger player.

Dallas' roster looks much stronger now than it did at the end of last season, and trading Gafford and Thompson before the beginning of next season are the next two moves the team needs to make to finalize a successful summer.

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