5 increasingly crazy trades Mavericks could make for a starting center

For the past few seasons, the Dallas Mavericks have remained competitive thanks to the top-notch play of Luka Doncic, who has been an All-NBA First Teamer for the past three seasons

Then, last summer, the Mavericks made a huge swing at the trade deadline, dealing for Kyrie Irving. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, and they missed out on the Play-In Tournament entirely.

But through it all, the Mavericks have had one constant - the lack of a starting-caliber center.

Dwight Powell is a solid backup, Christian Wood provided a decent scoring punch, JaVale McGee just didn’t work out, and Maxi Kleber is more of a four/five than just a center.

5 increasingly crazy trades Mavericks could make for a starting center

Heading into the summer, the Mavericks set out to reshape their center position, and so far, they have done a decent job at acquiring talent at the position.

During the NBA Draft, they traded back from pick 10 to pick 12, selecting Dereck Lively II in the process, and in a subsequent deal, they landed Richaun Holmes in a trade with the Sacramento Kings.

However, Holmes barely played this past season, and while Lively has a ton of potential, he’s a rookie. Dallas could still use a starting-caliber center on the roster to lead the way.

There aren’t any of those guys left in free agency so that just leaves the trade market, which the Mavericks should be scouring for talent. They have the assets to make a deal happen, and if they hope to compete for a title, they need to stay active on the market.

So, with that in mind, here are five potential trades the Mavericks could make for a starting center this offseason, each of which gets crazier and crazier.

The first two are somewhat realistic. The third is a deal we’ve discussed before but seems a bit out there. The fourth is an out-of-nowhere option that would have some Mavericks fans raising eyebrows. And the fifth if an absurd deal that would almost certainly never happen… right?

*Any trades that include Richaun Holmes (and at least one other player) cannot happen until August 21.*