7 Former, 2 current Dallas Mavericks players listed as 'top NBA trade candidates'

8. Reggie Bullock

After seeing a steep decline in his defensive capabilities last season, the Dallas Mavericks knew that it wasn't likely that they were going to bring Reggie Bullock back for a third season in Dallas, even if he still had another year remaining on his contract. After turning 32 years old toward the end of last season, it was clear that the Mavericks' playoff run versus the Warriors may have taken a substantial amount of tread off of Bullock's tires.

Bullock was extremely one-dimensional on offense in Dallas and always has been throughout his NBA career. Couple that with early season shooting struggles in consecutive years and being a step slower on defense, and it's easy to see why Dallas was in desperate need of help on the wing to replace Bullock this offseason. Dallas was able to complete that quest this past summer via a three-team sign and trade that brought Dallas Grant Williams from Boston and sent Bullock to the San Antonio Spurs.

Williams is 24 years old and is poised to be a point of continuity on this Mavericks roster for years to come if things go well, meanwhile, Bullock is playing an extremely limited role for the Houston Rockets after being bought out by the Spurs before the season started.

Bullock is averaging just 1.9 points per game for the Rockets and has only appeared in 11 games thus far, so it seems like Dallas dodged a huge bullet by not bringing him back given his steep decline in production.

It makes sense as to why Bullock is listed as a prime trade candidate by Scotto given his play in Houston, as fans can appreciate his time in Dallas and contributions to the Mavericks' 2022 playoff run whilst still recognizing that Bullock isn't the same player he was a few years ago.