Getty A proposed trade sends out the Dallas Mavericks' top 10 2023 draft pick and a pair of big men for an underperforming former lottery pick
Marvin Bagley III would land with the Dallas Mavericks in a mock trade proposal pitched by Piston Powered’s Indy Perro. In return for the 2018 NBA draft’s No. 2 pick, the Detroit Pistons would return the No. 10 overall draft pick in the 2023 NBA draft as well as the two years and $33 million remaining on Davis Bertans’ contract and the expiring $5 million contract of JaVale McGee.
Perro believes Bagley — or fellow win-now Pistons players who’d fit better with the Mavericks like Bojan Bogdanovic or fellow former underperforming lottery pick James Wiseman for that matter — would help move the needle more than whoever would be selected with the No. 10 pick would, and feels Bertans and McGee as salary filler makes sense given the timing of Cade Cunningham’s rookie-scale contract expiring.
“The tenth overall pick won’t make their team better next year, but it could help them create cap space and/or attain veteran players,” Perro prefaced before saying, “The Pistons can help Dallas do both. If this trade requires the Pistons include any one of MB3, James Wiseman, or Bojan Bogdanovic, I say do it. They’re all players who could help Dallas, and Bertans and McGee’s contracts expire at the end of Cunningham’s rookie deal.”
While Bagley has not lived up to his No. 2 billing thus far, his career as a starter-level role player thus far (13 points, seven rebounds in his career) has looked worse for the team that drafted him, the Sacramento Kings, because Luka Doncic was picked right after him at No. 3, Jaren Jackson Jr. was picked at No. 4, and Trae Young was picked at No. 5. All three of those players, unlike Bagley, have ascended to All-Star status.
Mavericks Likely to Trade 2023 NBA Draft’s No. 10 Pick
Per Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports during an appearance on the ‘Inside The Mavs’ podcast, the Mavericks are all but certain to deal away their No. 10 draft pick.
“Yeah, they’re going to trade it (the No. 10 pick),” Fischer said. “If Dallas is picking at 10, I will be absolutely floored. I don’t know if it’s just gonna be for a straight, you know, ‘we’re trading 10 for this player.’ If they’re moving down, if there’s a little other shuffling with it. But they’re going to trade this pick. I think there’s just so much opportunity for movement and they’re in a pretty prime position in order to get something of value back.”
Fischer named the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz as potential destinations for the No. 10 pick in the 2023 draft.
“Whether it is something like that Atlanta thing or something with Utah, what have you,” Fischer prefaced before saying, “I would take it to the bank that Dallas is going to move this selection.”
West Contenders Eyeing Trading Up Can Be Mavericks Match
According to Fischer, two Western Conference contenders eying a trade up in the draft that have made the Western Conference Finals the past two seasons, the Los Angeles Lakers and 2022 NBA Finals-winning Golden State Warriors, could be a potential Mavericks in a deal for the No. 10 pick.
“The Lakers I think would have interest in getting up that high, I just don’t know what they have to really make it worth Dallas’s while,” Fischer said. “Golden State is a team [interested in trading up], but I think they would like to get up higher than 10.”
