There are 10 teams above .500 at this early juncture of the 2026-27 season in the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Lakers tower among all of them with a 10-2 start to the new campaign. Dig a little deeper and you will find the Dallas Mavericks enjoying a 7-4 record as well.
Watching Luka Doncic's old team have that type of quiet success is an unwelcome sight for the Lakers. For all those that have an ongoing fascination with bringing in any of Luka's old buddies, why would the Mavericks even consider the thought if they keep stable and keep winning?
The likes P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford have regularly been brought up as names the Lakers should target. To a lesser degree, Naji Marshall is among that bunch too. There would be little motivation for the Mavericks to move any of those guys if they are not sellers by the trade deadline.
Each of those guys have played a part in the Mavs' solid start to the year. New team president Masai Ujiri has historically preferred allowing his guys to play things out, too. If things hold steady to where they are, anticipating anything close to a fire sale in Dallas is talking yourself into a pipe dream.
Mavericks won't be sellers for the Lakers to buy from at this pace
The 2026 NBA Draft showed the Lakers and Mavericks were willing to be business partners again after the brutal optics of the Doncic trade for Dallas. That created hope for many those two could eventually work together on bigger deals. That much is fading here for the reasons stated above.
Gafford continues to play an important role for the Mavericks as their starting center. That much will force the Lakers to look elsewhere if they want to bolster the frontcourt behind Walker Kessler.
Despite being in constant trade chatter, Washington has come in and started all 11 games for the Mavericks as well. The veteran forward has functioned well beside Cooper Flagg thus far. P.J. is even enjoying a bounce-back campaign as a shooter, knocking down 35.6 percent from deep on 6.6 attempts per game after only shooting 32.5 percent on 4.2 attempts a night last season.
Marshall continues to be an effective Swiss-army-knife player for the Mavericks, too. His impact off the bench has been felt. These three players make up six of Dallas' top minutes per game guys on average.
All of them have chipped in on this 7-4 start for the Mavericks. If Dallas maintains a clear Play-In pace leading up to the 2027 NBA trade deadline, a Ujiri-led front office does not project as sellers. Any type of reinforcements for a championship push in Los Angeles will require a different trade partner.
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