Grade the Trade: Mavericks pull off unexpected draft day move with Knicks

The Dallas Mavericks started out with the No. 58 and last pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

They ended up trading their pick and cash considerations to the New York Knicks to trade up and pick French forward Melvin Ajinca at No. 51. Ajinca played professionally in France for Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball in the LNB Pro B.

For the Knicks, they ended up with German big man Ariel Hukporti.

Grade the Trade: Mavericks pull off unexpected draft day move with Knicks

For both sides, they're looking to grow deeper for their respective rosters. Both teams, when healthy, could be in championship contention for the 2024-25 season. Both pieces will be used for future development for their respective teams.

While the Knicks and Mavericks will respectively maintain a somewhat similar starting five, the development of Ajinca will be focused on.

The development of Olivier Maxence-Prosper has been seen in Dallas since his rookie year in the 2023-24 season. General Manager Nico Harrison has a history of producing young talent but also has a history of being able to bring in veteran stars, such as Kyrie Irving. His talent pool is pretty large regarding young players and veteran superstars.

The Knicks got a massive win this week trading to get Mikal Bridges. That Brooklyn trade could impact Dallas to eventually reunite Dorian Finney-Smith with the Dallas Mavericks as the Nets could be having a fire sale.

The move overall will help both teams in terms of their bench depth, but it can also help in terms of their development for the near future. In respect to both teams, they're looking to have both guys ready to go if their names are called. So, both teams might need some guys to play more minutes if some guys get injured, which we saw with the Knicks in the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

Grading the trade for the New York Knicks

The Knicks have plenty of depth thanks to their pick getting Ariel Hukporti. Their big-man depth has already been established over the past couple of years with Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein as their bigs.

Hukporti could be a raw but developed player in the leagues if held properly. There have been reports on if Hartenstein will even be re-signed by the Knicks, as he could even sign elsewhere considering he's an unrestricted free agent. Anything is possible with the Knicks, especially after getting another Villanova guy in Bridges.

In regard to the Knicks, the Mavericks and Knicks are not new in terms of trading players with each other over the years, including just recently. There have been rumors linked to former Knicks guard, Quentin Grimes who now has a spot for the Detroit Pistons.

Grimes may have a spot on the Mavericks if a trade is made, which was somewhat expected on day two of the NBA Draft if Tim Hardaway Jr. was traded. While Mavs fans were expecting a trade, it was not the one they expected. Dallas traded up in the draft rather than making the seemingly inevitable move of trading away their long-time-tenured sharpshooter.

In terms of Hukporti, he could have a spot on the Knicks roster if Robinson or Hartenstein were to go down. That's happened plenty of times, so don't be surprised if head coach Tom Thibodeau calls his number early in the year.

Grading the trade for the Dallas Mavericks

For the Dallas Mavericks, the team could use a guy who could play big minutes on the wing and bring defensive versatility. There were not many guys at all in the 2023-24 season who could show that versatility outside of a couple of key role players.

For guys like Josh Green, Dante Exum, and Tim Hardaway Jr., these are guys that could only play at the two or three positions, respectively.

With P.J. Washington playing as a good third option at times, it would help to have someone with size at the three, who can create his own shot, get to the rim, and hit threes when needed.

Ajinca could be someone who could pull up and shoot a sweet stroke but he's also someone who could get rebounds in a big lineup for Dallas at the three.

Harrison said Ajinca is "athletic" with someone who could put up a shot.

In terms of grading the Mavericks' trade-up, Harrison clearly saw something in bringing in someone with size with an "upside." Ajinca averaged 10.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and shot 36 percent from 3-point range. He could help the perimeter shooting that Dallas lacked in the 2024 NBA Finals.

This pick was a move for the future, as he may not even have a spot on this year's 15-man roster, but the sky is the limit for young Ajinca.

For more on the Mavs during free agency, stay tuned.