Trade no. 3
In this trade idea, the Miami Heat would send their All-Star Goran Dragic and sharpshooter Wayne Ellington to the Dallas Mavericks for Dennis Smith Jr. and Wesley Matthews.
This trade would kill me for all the obvious reasons, the Heat fan in me knows moving on to a young 4-headed horse in Smith, Richardson, Winslow, and Adebayo makes complete sense. But Goran Dragic has been the heart of this franchise for the past few years and it doesn’t feel right to see him go in this fashion.
However, the Slovenian dragon won a Eurocup with Doncic just two summers ago and both are very close on and off the court, which would make that backcourt one of the more underrated ones for years to come. Dragic, even though he is getting back from injury, has fresh legs and will play at a high level for a few more years. Allowing him and Doncic to flourish together would be an obvious pairing in Dallas and I would pull the trigger immediately if I was in their front office.
As for Miami, they would have to bet and go all-in on Smith Jr. moving forward as their point guard. Or at least, pairing him next to Winslow for years to come.
In conclusion, I don’t necessarily love the idea of getting another point guard if I am Pat Riley, but this is the youngest prospect on the market and the Heat probably won’t have another chance to get a former top-ten pick from a frustrated team this easily again.
Time will tell, but any of these deals could potentially do it for Miami and Dallas.