1 deal Mavericks must make with 2025-26 NBA trade season underway

The Dallas Mavericks might be a little scared off from making trades anytime soon. Last year, the team dealt Luka Doncic. It was a shocking move at the time, and hindsight hasn’t done it any favors. Anthony Davis was the centerpiece in Dallas’ return in that deal, and he has spent most of his time with the Mavericks sidelined.

Davis’ lack of ability has played a huge part in the Mavericks falling short of expectations this year. Now, Davis is even being rumored as a trade candidate himself. If the Mavericks don’t want to give up on the Davis experiment yet, there are some moves that they can make that would improve the roster. A deal for Dennis Schroder, for example, makes lots of sense.

Mavericks’ trade proposal for Dennis Schroder

Mavericks receive: Dennis Schroder

Kings receive: Brandon Williams, Caleb Martin, Dwight Powell, two second-round picks

Not only has Davis spent much of his time with the Mavericks in street clothes, but Kyrie Irving is currently out with a torn ACL. It is possible that the all-time great point guard will return at some point this season, but the Mavericks shouldn’t count on that. Without him, point guard play in Dallas has been disastrous.

D’Angelo Russell is again overly streaky, Brandon Williams’ lack of a 3-point shot has limited his time on the floor, and Ryan Nembhard only recently became a rotation player. Nembhard has enough playmaking and steadiness with the ball in his hands that he does look like a rotation player going forward, but Russell and Williams’ struggles make it to where the Mavericks should be trying to find players to replace them going forward.

Dennis Schroder finally got paid in the offseason after years of being a journeyman of sorts, but the Sacramento Kings may blow things up this year. If they do, it could actually make sense for the Mavericks to make a buyers move and trade for the point guard. Schroder is locked up for two seasons after this year. He would come in and give the Mavericks a boost while Irving is sidelined, and he can play either with or behind Irving upon his return.

Number one pick Cooper Flagg has spent time at point guard this year, which illustrates the team’s need for a lead ball handler is more drastic than meets the eye. Schroder is a career 13.9 point-per-game scorer who offers plenty of playmaking and a gritty attitude on defense.

Would the Kings trade Dennis Schroder?

The Kings are 6-22 and officially in last place in the Western Conference. It was evident before the season even started that the trio of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Domantas Sabonis wasn’t going to work. With Sabonis missing most of the season with injury, the team has been even worse than originally anticipated, though, and now the Kings may have no choice but to blow the whole thing up.

Sabonis would surely net a massive trade return, and while trade packages for LaVine and DeRozan wouldn’t be as large, the team needs to move on from those two much more than they need to end their relationship with Sabonis. If some or all of these stars are traded, though, Sacramento might as well go all in on a rebuild.

That could include trading Schroder, despite the fact that he was signed in the offseason. The Mavericks could offer an intriguing package to the Kings. Williams has been inefficient, but he has still done quite well for himself since going undrafted in 2021. The guard is averaging 10.8 points per game. That figure doesn’t trail Schroder by all that much, and he is a much younger option.

Caleb Martin’s Dallas tenure has been disastrous, but he could return to form with a change of scenery. The Kings would also add two second-round picks in this deal. While Sacramento would surely prefer to add a first-round pick, the opinion and value of second-rounders have seemingly increased in recent years due to the current state of NBA finances and the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

A Kings’ fire sale seems imminent, but Sacramento might not add as much future capital as they’d prefer when it is all said and done. That extends to a potential trade involving Schroder, but the point guard could certainly be on the move sooner rather than later.

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