Should Mavs Trade Porzingis For Kings’ Hield & Bagley?

DALLAS – Coming off a heartbreaking first-round series exit at the hands of the LA Clippers, the Dallas Mavericks will look to bolster its supporting cast around Luka Doncic.

In a proposed trade by Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz, the Mavericks would receive Buddy Hield, Marvin Bagley III and the No. 39 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft in part of a three-team deal involving the Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves.

The other element of this trade would involve Harrison Barnes landing with the Timberwolves while Kristaps Porzingis, Malik Beasley, Jarrett Culver, and a 2025 first-round pick (lottery protected, via DAL) is sent to the Kings. 

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Buddy Hield is a name that has previously been floated as a logical trade target for the Mavericks. He is a sharpshooter with Dallas connections that is among the highest volume 3-point shooters in the NBA who can hit pull-ups, so the fit next to Luka Doncic is clear. 

Taking a chance on a Marvin Bagley III buy-low opportunity could be a bit intriguing. However, there are fundamental flaws in his makeup as a player that would need to be sorted out. 

For starters, Bagley III is neither a rim protector nor a versatile defender that can switch or defend out in space. Meanwhile, he isn’t a floor spacer offensively and lacks any particular area where he has a trajectory to being very good or elite. 

The Mavericks’ defensive limitations that are faced with Kristaps Porzingis anchoring the defense would persist without the floor spacing benefit on the other end. That seems like a bad trade-off to make. 

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Making a trade for Porzingis would make sense for the Kings when considering the could supercharge the team’s floor spacing for De’Aaron Fox. Opening up the lane for arguably the NBA’s most explosive athlete is always a sound idea. 

There would not be a pressing need for Hield either if the Mavericks do bring back Tim Hardaway Jr., or at least land a secondary ball handler like Kyle Lowry. Also, there are `other ways to land Hield in a trade than to involve Porzingis. 

While some may want to trade Kristaps Porzingis, moving him for the sake of making a trade is not the right course of action. The Mavericks would need to lose Hardaway Jr. and miss out on all secondary ball-handler targets before entertaining this. Therefore, this is an “idea” – but one that doesn’t fit the Mavs’ hints given to us regarding their plan.