2 Trades from an opposing GM that turned the Mavericks into a monster

On Saturday night, the Dallas Mavericks finished their thrilling series against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 117-116 win on their home floor to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

Dallas' series against the Thunder was identical to their series against the LA Clippers when it comes to the order in which they won and lost games, and now the Mavs will have the chance to play the Minnesota Timberwolves and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011.

This was an intense series from Game 1 until the way until Game 6, and the resiliency of Luka Doncic helped the Mavs grab wins in Games 5 and 6 to ultimately win the series.

2 Trades from an opposing GM that turned the Mavericks into a monster

Doncic had a rough start to the series and was constantly battling injuries, and his back-to-back triple-doubles in Games 5 and 6 were huge. He had to find a way to impact the series more, and that's exactly what he did to help the Mavs close out this series.

Kyrie Irving was also huge for the Mavs in Game 6, as he turned a slow start into a 22-point clutch masterclass. Irving was hitting tough shots down the stretch, and he is now 14-0 in closeout games.

The Thunder were never going to be an easy matchup considering that they were the No. 1 seed, but their inexperience ended up coming back to bite them in the end.

Dallas has now made the Western Conference Finals in two of the last three seasons, and they are four wins away from the NBA Finals.

While everyone is pointing to Doncic and Irving for this series win, Dallas' role players were big in this series as well. Two of Dallas' biggest role players were actually acquired in trades this season, and an opposing GM from a different Western Conference powerhouse helped the Mavs pull off these deals.

Here we dive into two trades an opposing GM made with the Mavericks this season that backfired on them and ultimately helped Dallas turn into a monster in the Western Conference.

2. Mavericks trade down to draft Dereck Lively II while Thunder select Cason Wallace

On draft night, the Dallas Mavericks were going to do whatever they could to improve their roster around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. The Mavs were coming off a season in which they missed the NBA Playoffs, and they needed to get back to their winning ways.

The Mavs were in rumors leading up to the draft that they may trade their pick for a win-now player, but they decided to make a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder to get off of Davis Bertans' contract while trading back two spots.

Dallas traded back from the No. 10 spot to the No. 12 spot, and the Mavs drafted Dereck Lively II while Sam Presti and the Thunder decided to take Cason Wallace. While both players ended up working out nicely for their respective teams in the end, Lively II was a much bigger difference-maker during his rookie year than Wallace was.

Lively II averaged 7.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game in the Thunder series, but his biggest impact came in Game 6 as he finished with 12 points, 15 rebounds, and one block. No one knew that Lively II was going to be this good this quickly, and he ended up hurting the Thunder badly in this series.

The Mavs clogged the paint in this series with Lively II to prevent the Thunder from scoring at the rim, and this series could have gone differently if Lively II played for Oklahoma City. Having another rim protector outside of Chet Holmgren would have been big for them.

1. Sam Presti and Thunder help facilitate Daniel Gafford to Mavericks trade

The Dallas Mavericks were a team that was expected to be buyers at the trade deadline, and their first big move came in the morning as they traded for Daniel Gafford from the Washington Wizards. The Mavs needed a backup big man behind Dereck Lively II badly, and after coming off the bench for a couple of games, Gafford later became the starter in Dallas.

What makes this unique for Dallas though is that Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City Thunder helped them facilitate this trade. The Mavs needed to send a first-round pick to Washington, and the Thunder made a separate deal with the Mavs to make this deal possible. Oklahoma City got a first-round pick swap in this trade, which could be huge, but helping the Mavs land another center hurt them once again was bold.

Gafford was excellent as the Mavs starter all season long, and he had a couple of big games against the Thunder in their second-round series. He opened up the series with a 16-point double-double, and he and Lively II formed an elite one-two punch.

The Thunder helping facilitate this trade is also interesting, considering their need for another big. Oklahoma City had every opportunity to trade for Gafford, and rather than get him themselves, they helped the Mavs get him.

Presti doesn't need to be any rush considering how young OKC's core is, but that would have been an easy move that would have made a big difference.

These two trades assisted by Sam Presti ultimately helped turn the Mavs into a monster, and their one-two punch at center will be massive in the Western Conference Finals.

For all the latest on Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, and the Dallas Mavericks throughout the rest of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, stay tuned.