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The 2023 NBA Draft saw the first major trade on draft night involving the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Below, we give you a quick breakdown on the details of that trade and we try to grade it for you too.
What the Dallas Mavericks Gave to Thunder
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The Mavericks gave away their 10th pick and also waved Davis Bertans. Dallas had no problems giving away the pick as the player they wanted they knew they could still get a few picks later. At the same time, as the Mavs are trying to give themselves flexibility to build stronger squad around Luka Doncic they were very eager to let Bertans go and they achieved that. Removing the $22 million wage of Bertans from their books should help Dallas to make further moves in coming weeks.
The Mavs were expected to select the Duke centre Dereck Livelly II with their 10th pick and even after trading back they still got him with the 12th pick, so there was no drama as far as Dallas were concerned.
What The Thunder Gave To Dallas
In exchange for receiving the 10th pick and Davis Bertans the Thunder gave to Dallas their 12th pick. Moving a few places up the draft helped OKC to select the talented point guard Cason Wallace they wanted to add to their roster. They also have enough wage flexibility to keep Bertans and use him off the bench as a big that could space the floor with his solid shooting.
Our Trade Grade For Each Team
Now we try to give you our grade for this trade.
Dallas Mavericks: A – The Mavs needed to free wage space and they did that by shipping out Bertans, while at the same time dropping just 2 places down the draft still allowed them to get the player they wanted.
Oklahoma City Thunder: B – The Thunder would have likely get the man they wanted Cason Wallace even with the 12th pick and this move was more of an over-insurance for them. It is not certain, if they need Bertans on their roster too. Still, the Thunder can easily take on his wage and they made it 100% certain that they got the player they wanted so this can’t be such a bad trade for them too.
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