The Dallas Mavericks are in search of a point guard to fill in while Kyrie Irving recovers from tearing his left ACL in March. They only have Jaden Hardy and Brandon Williams as guards under contract for next season, which will not be good enough for a team hoping to contend for a championship next season.
Dallas has been connected to guards like Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday, but there’s a different recent NBA champion that Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report believes would be a “dream” trade target.
READ MORE: Mavericks looking to acquire guard connected to Anthony Davis
Swartz listed Derrick White as one of his dream trade targets for Dallas, and he would be a good fit with the Mavs.
“Landing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft has completely changed the course of the Dallas Mavericks, a team that should select and keep Cooper Flagg while still being aggressive in improving the roster around Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving.
“[White is a combo guard] who would begin the year at point guard while Irving recovers from a torn ACL and then slide to shooting guard when he returns, hopefully in January.”
The Celtics had a lot of success with Derrick White playing both guard spots, as his improvements from the three-point line fit their system perfectly. He can play on or off the ball, something that would matter once Irving returns to the court.
The salary may be hard to match, though. White is set to make $28.1 million next season, and Boston is over the second tax apron so they can’t take back more salary than they send out. It could be something like White for P.J. Washington, Caleb Martin, and Dwight Powell, with the Celtics likely re-routing Powell somewhere else to get the tax savings. Draft compensation would also likely have to be sent out for the Celtics to accept that, though.
READ MORE: Disgruntled $194 million superstar named Mavericks ‘dream’ trade target
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