The Dallas Mavericks making it all the way to the Western Conference Finals last season led to outsized expectations for this year.
Thus far, 31 games into the season, the team has objectively underperformed.
Presently the Mavs find themselves at 15-16 and sit 10th in the Western Conference.
Understandably, many are now clamoring for them to make a trade of some sort to turn the team’s fortunes around.
There is one guy the front office appears unwilling to part with at this juncture, though.
According to Tim Cato of The Athletic, Josh Green is one player the Mavericks really don’t want to trade away.
“M understanding is that the Mavericks would be very hesitant to trade Green at this point,” he wrote.
“One person in the front office told me that he considered him the team’s third-most important player after Dončić and Dinwiddie. It’s a stance I agree with for the reasons listed above. In my opinion, Green isn’t a player who should be traded for anything other than a package for a legitimate star.
“And the chances are pretty slim that the Mavericks could build any package right now, even including Green, that would net them another star. That makes his future with the team fairly safe, at least for now. I’m more curious what type of extension Dallas might consider for him this coming summer.”
Green is averaging 7.0 points on 58.3 percent shooting from the field and 44.4 percent shooting from three in 20.3 minutes per game.
Obviously those stats don’t jump off the page, but clearly the organization views green as an instrumental part of the team’s future.
The problem is, it’s hard to see how the Mavs improve if they are unwilling to give anything of substance up. There was chatter last week about a possible trade with the New York Knicks, but thus far nothing has materialized on that front.
This has been something of a cursed season for the Mavericks as a whole. Between Doncic having to wage legal war against his own mom, the weird feud head coach Jason Kidd has waged against Christian Wood and the team’s overall inability to sustain any level of consistency – it has been one issue after another.
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 19, 2022
It feels like Dallas needs a jolt to the system.
A trade would be the easiest solution.
Inevitably it would require giving up an integral young piece, though. And if the Mavs aren’t willing to part with Green it will make creating an opportunity out of thin air all the harder.
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Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
