Luka Doncic is a generational talent that will one day win an MVP award for the Dallas Mavericks, but the rest of this team right now has a lot of question marks surrounding it the rest of this NBA season.
Dallas has been one of the better teams in the league during the second-half of the season, as they are currently 42-26 and the 5-seed in the Western Conference, but is this team a true championship contender?
Losing Tim Hardaway Jr. to a foot injury has definitely affected the Mavericks offensive flow and while they added Spencer Dinwiddie at the trade deadline, this team still may not have what it takes offensively in order to beat some of the top-of-the-line teams in the Western Conference.
Doncic can only do so much for this team, which is why the Mavericks will enter the playoffs with a ton of question marks surrounding them, especially since they have not won a playoff series since 2011.
Assuming they do not go on a deep postseason run, the Mavericks will be looking for ways to improve their roster in the offseason. However, this will not be easy to do, especially since they are projected to be well over the salary cap and tax line heading into the offseason.
The only way for the Mavericks to add the talent they need is to make a big trade and adding another All-Star talent to this roster must be a priority for this organization.
In order to contend for a championship, Luka Doncic needs other high-level talents around him, which is why Julius Randle could be on Dallas’ radar should he become available in trade talks.
The Knicks have been a disaster this season and with Randle showing signs of regression from his All-Star season a year ago, New York could be inclined to consider trading the All-Star forward.
What Dallas has to offer New York that would be of value is a mystery, but Julius Randle is from Plano, Texas, which is only about 20 miles from the heart of Dallas. Going home could really be an intriguing idea for Randle, so let’s take a look at a proposal put together by Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey that would make this possible.
New York Knicks Receive: G/F Tim Hardaway Jr., F Sterling Brown
Dallas Mavericks Receive: F Julius Randle
The Knicks have a lot of work to do in the offseason in order to get back to where they were last season as the 4-seed in the Eastern Conference.
In order for New York to turn themselves into a real contending threat in the East, they will need to not only establish rotations consisting of reliable scorers, but they will need to add another star to this team.