Getty Atlanta Hawks forward John Collins and Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.
With the 2023 NBA draft just three days away, the Dallas Mavericks have yet to make a trade involving their first-round pick, which is slotted at No. 10 overall. Dallas’ desire to use the pick in order to bring in more talent to bolster the roster is no secret. The team struggled immensely in the second half of the season, largely because of the lack of help for Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic.
In spirit of the upcoming NBA draft, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz wrote up a mock trade where the Mavericks offload their pick to the Atlanta Hawks. The trade was proposed as follows:
Atlanta Hawks Receive: No. 10 overall pick, PF Dāvis Bertāns, C JaVale McGee
Dallas Mavericks Receive: PF John Collins, C Onyeka Okongwu
This may be the best value that Dallas could get back for No. 10. Their roster is in dire need of frontcourt help. Jason Kidd was forced to use a carousel of middling big men last season and it just didn’t work.
Adding both Collins and Okungwu would help that in a major way.
“For Dallas, securing a potential No. 3 scoring option in Collins and a young, defensive ace in Okongwu sets this frontcourt up for the foreseeable future,” Swartz explained. “The 25-year-old Collins would immediately become Dallas’ starting power forward who brings career averages of 15.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and shooting marks of 61.1 percent from two and 35.6 percent from three.
“Okongwu, the No. 6 overall pick in 2020, has been stuck behind Clint Capela during his three years in Atlanta but is ready for a starting job. The 22-year-old has averaged 10.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and shot 60.6 percent overall in 28 career starts.”
Mavericks Have Been Linked to Hawks’ John Collins
While many mock trades are far-fetched and unrealistic, this one isn’t too crazy. Dallas has reportedly had discussions with Atlanta about a deal involving Collins, according to Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer.
“The Mavericks are considering options to move down from No. 10 into the middle of the first round, sources said, to pick up a veteran rotation piece to help support Luka Doncic and free agent-to-be Kyrie Irving,” Fischer wrote. “The Mavericks and Hawks, for example, discussed the idea of swapping Dāvis Bertāns and the No. 10 pick for John Collins and the No. 15 selection, sources said, although those talks do not appear to have progressed at this time.”
While the discussions haven’t gotten anywhere just yet, that doesn’t mean it’d be impossible for both sides to agree on a deal.
Mavericks Interested in Hawks’ Clint Capela
Fischer also touched on another rumor involving the two sides. He revealed that Dallas would prefer to land center Clint Capela, rather than Collins, in a trade for the No. 10 pick
“Those talks did not develop very far, sources said, and Dallas indicated it would be more willing to consider that deal if Hawks center Clint Capela was the returning player from Atlanta,” Fischer added.
In 65 games for the Hawks, Capela averaged 12.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game this past season while shooting 65.3% from the floor. The big man signed a two-year, $45.5 million contract extension with Atlanta in September 2021.
