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

2. Mavericks land wing depth in trade with Orlando

In this trade, the Mavericks trade a player they've been trying to move for a while while gaining some wing depth.

The Magic do this deal to add much-needed three-point shooting (they ranked 25th last season) and a good veteran voice to their young locker room. They would also get two second-rounders for a player who is only on a partially guaranteed contract for the upcoming season.

For the Mavericks, there's one major risk to doing this deal.

The first would be Isaac's injury history. The 25-year-old has only played in a total of 147 games in six seasons, including missing all of the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to an ACL injury. His lack of durability also carried into the 2022 season, and Isaac only appeared in 11 games.

However, if he is healthy enough to play, Jonathan Isaac is an absolute nightmare on the defensive side of the floor. In the 2019-2020 season, before his injury, he averaged 2.3 blocks and 1.6 steals per game. His length, height, and athleticism also allowed him to guard multiple positions on the court.

Isaac isn't a good three-point shooter, but his impact defensively and on the glass would more than make up for what he lacks on the offensive end.

His contract for the 2023 season is only partially guaranteed at $7.6 million but would need to be fully guaranteed to make this deal work. Once that happens, he would be on the books for a cap hit of $17.4 million.

His deal is currently non-guaranteed for the 2024 season. So, if the experiment fails, the Mavs could cut ties and move on. If it works, Dallas has control of him for the next two seasons.

In the hypothetical scenario that Isaac is healthy and close to what he was before his injury, he would become their best defender and most likely be the guy guarding the likes of Kevin Durant and other superstars as the Mavericks try to navigate through the Western Conference.