1. Wayne Ellington to the Dallas Mavericks
The first proposed trade package sees the Los Angeles Lakers trading one of their shooters to the Dallas Mavericks for that coveted second-round pick. Wayne Ellington is not someone who has been caught up in the Lakers rumors as a potential player to be traded but that does not mean he is off the table.
Ellington does add a shooting dynamic to the Lakers but quite frankly, the Lakers have enough three-point shooters who do not play a lick of defense. If the team is expecting to land a cheap defensive trade target or even a defensive buyout guy, it makes sense to make room in the rotation by clearing Ellington and getting an asset for him.
Ellington absolutely has more value than some of the other rotation players the Lakers could trade and the right team absolutely would be willing to trade a second-round pick for him. Are the Dallas Mavericks the right team? I think so.
The Mavericks need shooters around Luka Doncic and they need to acquire them for cheap. Dallas only has three players in the rotation shooting over 36% from three and only one player shooting above 37% from three.
The need is even larger with Tim Hardaway Jr. fracturing his foot. While Hardaway was struggling from three this season, he still took the most threes per game besides Doncic. The Mavs need someone who can help fill that shooting void and Ellington would help for cheap.
Dallas has their 2022 second-round pick and they have a trade exception that they can use to take on Ellington without sending another contract to LA, which helps open a roster spot for the Lakers.
Ellington for Dallas’ 2022 second-round pick is absolutely a realistic trade for both parties.