Everyone except Doncic on Mavs’ transfer list

The Mavericks are preparing sweeping changes to meet the requests of Luka Doncic. The Slovenian, via the American press, has made it clear to franchise managers that changes are needed now. He believes that the current roster is simply not strong enough for the team to maintain the level they showed last season - let alone reach the conference finals, or further. From now on, everyone in Kidd’s team who isn’t named Doncic could be traded.

During the last weeks, the Mavs have been negotiating to renew Christian Wood’s contract. GM Nico Harrison was banking on Woods to be the man to help Luka this year. And media leaks suggest that they are considering other options if a reasonable agreement is not reached soon. Time is ticking and no progress has been made. The franchise would be keen to get something for Wood, whose contract expires in the summer, so as not to suffer the same pain as they did with Brunson when he went to the Knicks. They would want some kind of compensation at the very least.

It’s clear that practically the whole roster requires a shakeup. Practically every position needs reinforcing given the imbalance in the squad and on top of that, there are other issues - the inconsistency of key players plus a lack of certainty with the return of one of the most versatile players, Maxi Kleber.

Shams Charania, a journalist for The Athletic, spoke to The Rally (Bally Sports) recently about the information he has gathered on how the team is doing . And there is a name that until now had been kept apart from the rest - players such as Bullock, Hardaway, Bertans, Ntilikina, Dwight Powell and Josh Green could all potentially be traded. Now, Dorian Finney-Smith, a forward with the ability to defend three positions and key in the three-pointers that Doncic forces when penetrating the rival area, could also leave if a convincing offer comes in. “The Jazz are expressing strong interest in Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith, as teams have gotten the impression that Dallas would be open to moving the 29-year-old in the right deal for a star-caliber player,” Charania noted.

While Utah are eager to reach agreements for almost all their players (Kessler and Markkanen are the exceptions), their reported interest could be a classic manouvre used to inflate the price of a player. Only Doncic is saved from this marketing swing. And the Mavs have 14 active standard contracts, so they have room to receive the reinforcements that Luka has demanded.