Kyrie Irving, Jrue Holiday, Mavericks
Getty
Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks dribbles the ball against Jrue Holiday of the Boston Celtics.
Kyrie Irving‘s ACL injury has torpedoed the embattled Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison’s vision of this team contending next season.
With Irving expected to miss the first half of next season, the Mavericks need a placeholder to hold everything together for them while their nine-time NBA All-Star point guard recovers.
Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale proposed a trade that would land the Mavericks not only just a stop-gap solution but someone who can play alongside Irving when he returns.
Here is Favale’s trade proposal:
Dallas Mavericks Receive: Jrue Holiday
Boston Celtics Receive: Daniel Gafford, P.J. Washington
Brooklyn Nets Receive: Dwight Powell (player option), 2026 second-round pick (most favorable of Minnesota, New Orleans, New York or Portland, via Boston)
“Holiday could run a good portion of the show until Irving returns without infringing upon developmental reps for likely No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg. The Mavs would have no trouble playing all four of Flagg, Holiday, Irving and Anthony Davis together when they’re at full strength,” Favale wrote.
The Mavericks should pounce on the opportunity to acquire Holiday as the Celtics are expected to make significant changes amid their rising payroll and luxury tax and Jayson Tatum‘s Achilles injury that will keep him out next season.
Jrue Holiday Fits Nico Harrison’s Vision
Though Holiday is coming off his worst season offensively since his rookie year, no thanks to injuries, the 34-year-old point guard has championship pedigree and a reputation as a good on-ball defender.
Holiday can play on and off the ball, which makes him a great fit even when Irving comes back. The six-time All-NBA Defensive guard will also cover up for Irving’s defensive deficiencies.
As Harrison repeatedly said on why he traded away Doncic, “defense wins championships.”
Holiday has done it twice with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Celtics.
Washington has become expendable with Flagg penciled in as the Mavericks’ starting small forward next to Davis and Dereck Lively II.
The Mavericks could not afford to keep all of Davis, Lively II and Gafford, with the latter looking to get paid starter money. Gafford is the odd man out here, so why not flip him for a championship-caliber point guard to balance out the roster?
Washington and Gafford also fit what the Celtics need if they are still committed to contend in the wide-open Eastern Conference. Gafford fixes their center woes while Washington can be their placeholder for Tatum.
“Brooklyn would get a second-round pick for sponging up one year and $4 million worth of Powell. That should be enough,” Favale wrote.
Win-win deal for everybody.
Point Guard is Mavericks’ Top Offseason Priority
Kyrie Irving, Mavericks
Getty Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks lies on the court after suffering an injury in the first half against the Sacramento Kings.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, their top priority this offseason is to look for a starting-caliber point guard to fill Irving’s shoes.
“I’m told the Mavericks will be pursuing a point guard,” Charania said at the NBA Draft Combine last week, “whether that’s in the trade market, or free agency. That’s a big priority for them. Kyrie Irving is targeting potentially sometime in January to make his return. We’ll see which point guard they can have as a plug-and-play for them.”
The Mavericks will not have big spending power in free agency to as they will operate as an apron team.
An increased payroll brought by Flagg’s rookie-scale contract as the No.1 pick and an expected lucrative extension for Irving, who has a $43 million player option, will put them above the two aprons, according to ESPN’s front office insider Bobby Marks.
The trade route would be their best option to add a starting-caliber point guard.
A Holiday deal isn’t a far-fetched idea.