3 Outside-the-box trade ideas to make the Mavericks a contender this season

3. Mavericks land starting center, wing depth from Nets

In this mock move, the Mavericks land an excellent starting center and wing depth from the Nets.

For Brooklyn, their incentive would be to create roughly $22 million in cap space and get off of the terrible Ben Simmons contract. They get back a shooter in Hardaway Jr. and a stretch big that can defend with Maxi Kleber.

From a Dallas perspective, there is definite risk involved as both Royce O'Neale and Nicolas Claxton are unrestricted free agents next summer. There is also the issue of whether or not Ben Simmons can still play.

This would additionally handicap the Mavs from a roster-building angle for the next two seasons. So, it would be a legitimate swing-for-the-fences type of situation.

However, the upside to this trade for Dallas is almost incomparable.

Claxton is only 24 years old and is an elite center on the defensive end. He averaged 2.5 blocks per game last season and would give the Mavs everything they are looking for from a big man, minus three-point shooting.

For the upcoming season, he would be an amazing fit. The assumption would be that Dallas would retain him the following offseason, giving him a sizeable contract.

O'Neale is an upper-tier 3-and-D specialist who is also an above-average playmaker and rebounder. He is a version of what the Dallas front office hopes Josh Green can develop into, just with slightly less athleticism. O'Neale would also be able to replace the three-point shooting of Hardaway Jr., as he shot 39 percent on 5.5 attempts per game last season.

Without including Ben Simmons, this trade would already make the Mavs one of the favorites to contend for a title this season, but Simmons is the wild card that could put Dallas over the top.

If Simmons would be open to playing the power forward position, instead of being a lead ball-handler, it could open up numerous possibilities for the Mavericks and be a resurgence opportunity for his career.

Assuming he played more of a defensive-playmaker role, especially in the frontcourt, he could give Jason Kidd an almost unlimited amount of lineup opportunities.

Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Grant Williams, Ben Simmons, Nic Claxton, Jaden Hardy, Josh Green, Richaun Holmes, Royce O'Neale, Seth Curry, Dante Exum, Derek Lively, and Olivier-Maxence Proser would be one of the deepest rosters in the NBA.

They would be elite defensively and could match up with any team put in front of them.