It’s the middle of October. Football is underway. This is the Cowboys’ year again, somehow. The best part of October, though, is that basketball is back.
For us casual football fans, this is when I start getting locked back into sports. And one thing basketball has over football is the drama: the rumors, the roster construction, and, of course, the trades.
So naturally, let’s hypothesize about who could be on the move this upcoming season.
Anthony Davis
A local Mavericks favorite.
While Anthony Davis was nothing but
a professional during his brief tenure in Dallas, the contract extension situation was almost guaranteed to complicate things eventually. I fully expect Davis to play to start the season, but the Wizards are in an interesting position.
They have a roster built around a strange combination of young players, Davis and Trae Young, while simultaneously trying to develop their new cornerstone, AJ Dybantsa. If Dybantsa is the future of the franchise, Washington needs to be careful about how much long-term money it commits to an aging superstar.
That is where things could get interesting. Two teams that could have interest in Davis are the Celtics and Nets.
Boston bolstered its center rotation this offseason with the addition of Mitchell Robinson, but they still don’t have a true defensive anchor who can hold up against the best teams in the playoffs. Davis would give them exactly that while also getting off the Paul George contract.
The Celtics also have a significant amount of draft capital, which gives them the flexibility to make a substantial move without completely sacrificing their future. They could either let Davis’ contract play out or potentially extend him if the fit works.
Washington receives: PG13 + 2027 Celtics FRP + Two SRPs
Boston receives: Anthony Davis
Brooklyn is an even more interesting possibility.
The Nets don’t control their own pick in 2027, so they have little incentive to intentionally bottom out. Their young cornerstones play guard, meaning Davis could take some of the pressure off them offensively while providing a defensive foundation without interfering with their development.
Like Boston, Brooklyn has plenty of draft capital and veteran contracts that could facilitate a deal. They also have significant cap flexibility moving forward. They could extend Davis if the fit works, or let his contract run out and shift their focus back toward their young core.
Washington receives: MPJ + Terrance Mann + 29’ Knicks FRP + 1 SRP
Brooklyn receives: Anthony Davis
For Washington, either scenario gives them a chance to reshape the roster around Dybantsa.
A starting lineup of Trae Young, Kyshawn George, Porter Jr./Paul George, Dybantsa and Sarr would give the Wizards a much clearer timeline and allow them to build around their new franchise centerpiece.
My prediction: I don’t expect Davis to be traded immediately, but if Washington struggles to find a clear identity early in the season, he could become one of the biggest names available at the trade deadline.
Everyone on the Clippers
Adam Silver showed us that he is willing to bring down the hammer on a team, no matter how influential or powerful its owner is. That puts the Clippers in an incredibly awkward position.
They have no real reason to be bad, but they also don’t have a conventional path to acquiring the kind of talent that would turn them into a legitimate contender. If I were the Clippers’ GM, outside of Keaton Wagler, almost everyone would be available.
The strategy would be pretty simple: turn veterans with value into draft capital and younger players. There are a number of different versions of this. Hachimura, Strus, Beal and Jones Jr. could all potentially bring back some combination of picks, young players or future flexibility.
The goal wouldn’t necessarily be to tank. It would be to avoid NBA purgatory.
Clippers receive: Duncan Robinson + Two SRP’s
Detroit receives: Rui Hachimura
The Clippers are in the dangerous territory where they won’t be good enough to seriously contend while not having the conventional path of the draft to get better. There is little reason to hold onto veteran contracts that could be converted into future assets.
Clippers receive: Jalen Suggs + Tristan da Silva
Orlando receives: Max Strus + Bradley Beal + Rui Hachimura
My prediction: I expect the Clippers to be aggressive in looking for opportunities to turn veteran talent into draft capital. If they get the right offer, almost anyone outside of their true foundational pieces should be available.
One of Suggs, Banchero or Wagner
This time last year, the Magic had just made the blockbuster trade to acquire Desmond Bane, and expectations were high.
We all know how that turned out.
Now Orlando enters another season with a talented roster, but one facing some increasingly difficult financial and basketball questions. With Anthony Black’s upcoming extension and the amount of money already committed to the roster, another disappointing season could force the Magic to reconsider how their core is constructed.
At some point, repeated first-round exits become more than bad luck. They become evidence that something about the roster may not be working. If Orlando gets off to another disappointing start, I could see them examining whether their best path forward is to rearrange the core rather than simply adding more pieces around it.
The obvious question is which of the three young stars becomes expendable: Jalen Suggs, Paolo Banchero or Franz Wagner.
The Clippers could potentially swoop in and take a swing on Suggs while Orlando adds depth and flexibility as demonstrated in the trade above. Another possibility could be a Jalen swap with Phoenix.
Orlando receives: Jalen Green
Phoenix receives: Jalen Suggs + Tristan da Silva
Green is on a shorter contract and would give the Magic something they desperately need: another dynamic scoring option. Obviously, trading one of these three would be an enormous decision. These aren’t role players we’re talking about. They’re the players Orlando has spent years building around.
But that’s exactly why this is worth watching. If the Magic believe the current core has reached its ceiling, eventually someone has to make the uncomfortable decision.
My prediction: I don’t expect Orlando to break up the core before the season starts. But if they have another disappointing year, I wouldn’t be shocked if one of these three becomes the centerpiece of a blockbuster trade.
Daniel Gafford
Alas, what is an article on a Mavericks site without one of our own getting traded?
Daniel Gafford will always have a place in Mavs fandom after being the starting center during a Finals run, but his time in Dallas may have simply run its course.
With Morez Johnson Jr. and Dereck Lively fingers crossed projecting as the frontcourt of the future, and even Moussa Cisse potentially entering that conversation, Gafford is the natural player to move.
The key is that Gafford still has established NBA value. Dallas doesn’t necessarily need to trade him, but if the Mavericks believe Lively and Johnson are the long-term answer at center, Gafford becomes one of their more obvious trade chips.
Things can obviously change as the season progresses, but I think getting a first-round pick outright for Gafford is unlikely at this point. If a FRP was ever on the table for him, he would already have been on another team.
As much as I don’t want to be in the Jakob Poeltl business, a deal involving Toronto is one of the better ways Dallas could potentially turn Gafford into a first-round pick while also addressing another area of need.
Dallas receives: Jakob Poetl + TOR 29’ FRP + two SRPs
Toronto receives: Daniel Gafford
Corey Kispert is another player who makes sense for Dallas. He could be a solid ninth- or tenth-man option who provides shooting and spacing, while Atlanta could bolster its center rotation with Gafford.
Dallas receives: Corey Kispert + two SRP’s
Atlanta receives: Daniel Gafford
The exact return is difficult to predict, but the logic behind moving Gafford is pretty straightforward: if Dallas has two young centers they believe in, why not turn their established veteran into another asset?
My prediction: Gafford is the Maverick I would be most surprised to see finish the season in Dallas if the right offer comes along. I don’t think a trade is inevitable, but the fit between his trade value and Dallas’ long-term roster construction makes him an obvious candidate.
Who Actually Gets Moved?
The NBA trade market rarely operates on a predictable timeline. Sometimes it takes one bad month, one injury, or one disappointing playoff series to completely change the direction of a franchise.
That’s what makes trying to predict trades so much fun.
Of the names on this list, Gafford is the player I feel most confident could be available. The Mavericks have a young frontcourt they clearly want to develop, and Gafford is the one player who already has established value around the league. If Dallas can turn him into draft capital or a young player who fits the timeline of this roster, I think it makes too much sense not to explore it.
The more interesting situations are the ones where a team has to make a much bigger decision. Does Washington really want to keep Anthony Davis and Trae Young while AJ Dybantsa develops? Can Orlando keep its core together if another season ends without meaningful playoff progress? Can the Clippers find a path forward after losing 5 years worth of first round picks?
Those are the situations I’ll be watching most closely.
And if there’s one thing we know about the NBA, it’s that the trade nobody saw coming is usually the one that changes everything.
