Some looked at the Dallas Mavericks heading into the 2025-26 campaign and believed that they could be a dark-horse playoff team. They have such a stacked frontcourt, and Cooper Flagg was looking like a game-changing talent from day one if his play during preseason was any indication.
But that stacked frontcourt has been depleted significantly, with Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II currently on the mend, and with the team's lackluster guard depth, the Mavericks have struggled — starting off the season with a 2-6 record heading into their Friday night clash against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Their point guard play, in particular, has been a huge mess. Flagg is receiving the Jeremy Sochan treatment by being miscast as a point guard/primary ballhandler, while PJ Washington, in the game where he captained the offense, turned the ball over eight times. The Mavericks brought D'Angelo Russell in to function as the stopgap point guard amid Kyrie Irving's recovery, but he's struggled to gain head coach Jason Kidd's trust — that is, until, Kidd replaced the struggling Klay Thompson in the starting lineup with Russell.
Suffice to say, the Mavs' point guard situation is in dire straits. Meanwhile, Luka Doncic is dominating for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Doncic trade is the disaster that keeps on piling on for the Mavs, but that is all in the past and nothing from that situation can be rectified.
All the Mavericks could do is address their point guard situation, and here's a trade they could pull off to try and help get their season back on track.
Dennis Schroder comes in via trade to help the Mavericks
Mavericks trade: Naji Marshall, Caleb Martin, two second-round picks
Kings trade: Dennis Schroder
Perhaps the smarter trade for the Mavericks to pull off with the Kings would be for Keon Ellis. Ellis has been phenomenal when given minutes, as he can lock down opposing ballhandlers, track them through screens, all while making threes and not commanding too many touches on the offensive end. For a team with plenty of ballhandlers, Ellis is a seamless fit. Alas, he's stuck on the bench while the Kings try to make their wacky starting lineup work.
But what the Mavericks need from a point guard is someone who can handle the ball and get to the rim while setting up their play-finishers. They don't have a point guard who can go downhill and put pressure on the rim. That is not Russell or Jaden Hardy's game.
Schroder can do exactly that, which is why the Kings brought him in via free agency in the first place. The Kings sorely missed De'Aaron Fox, as Malik Monk is not a natural point guard, and Schroder could at least do bits and pieces of what Fox used to do for the team.
But then the Kings have such a logjam in the backcourt. They brought in Russell Westbrook, who is seizing the reins in Sacramento, and they still have DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis who need the ball in their hands to thrive. Zach LaVine also requires plenty of touches. Ditto for Monk.
It's odd for Schroder to be the odd man out, but he's also the most ideal fit for the Mavericks as presently constructed. He can make use of the lob threat the Mavericks' big men pose, he relieves Flagg of playmaking duties, freeing him up to be a multi-positional wrecker on the wings, and he would overall restore a sense of balance to the Mavs roster.
Dallas does not have much to offer Sacramento. One would think that the Kings would want PJ Washington in any Schroder trade scenario. But Washington is a piece the Mavs would prefer to keep, as he's a combo forward who doubles as their best defensive option against the best perimeter scorers in the NBA. Getting a point guard like Schroder while losing Washington won't be much of a net positive, if at all, for the Mavs.
Thus, the Mavericks would instead trade away Naji Marshall and Caleb Martin to go along with two second-round picks to bring Schroder in. The Kings need more size and versatility on the wings, and both Marshall and Martin can provide exactly that. They are lower-usage wing players as well while addressing the Kings' need for traditionally-sized wing players.
Martin has been abysmal this season for the Mavericks, while Marshall has been less reliable this year than last. But the Kings are using a position of strength to at least solve some roster-construction issues, making it a potentially beneficial trade for both teams.
