The Lakers and Mavericks trade again? The tripartite cooperation is brewing, Doncic welcomes the best partner

Before the NBA lottery draw, it is basically a fantasy to say that the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks are expected to trade again this summer, but after the Mavericks drew the No. 1 pick with 1.8%, everything seems much more reasonable.

According to CBS reporter Sam Quinn on the 14th, the Mavericks miraculously hope to select Flag, the cornerstone of the future, to clean up Gafford, which is in the same position in the team, becoming one of the main tasks this summer. The Los Angeles Lakers are just one of the potential buyers who need Gafford the most. The two teams are expected to cooperate again after Doncic's earthquake transaction in early February. The transaction in the report of Quinn pointed out that the Lakers and Mavericks will start a three-party deal with the Trail Blazers. The Mavericks will win the Trail Blazers 25-year-old defender Simmons, the Lakers will get Gafford, and the Trail Blazers will take over from the two teams Claybel, Martin, Kneckett, Powell, the 2029 first-round pick (from the Lakers), the 2031 first-round pick and the Lakers first-round pick swap rights in 2030.

After the Mavericks exchanged for Thick Brow this season, together with young centers Lai Fuli and Gafford, there are 3 people in the team that can serve as centers. Now, after welcoming Flag, the frontcourt power is too crowded. Especially considering that Irving may miss most of the next season, the Mavericks are in short supply in the backcourt, and Gafford, the Mesozoic generation, may become the target of clearing out.

In addition, Gafford will become a free agent next summer and he is expected to seek a starting player-level salary of at least 15 million or more, but the Mavericks have to invest this budget in No. 1 Flag, whose annual salary for the NBA draft is estimated to be around $14 million next year.

The Mavericks are in a must-have for trading Gafford. Lakers general manager Pelinka has publicly called for a qualified penalty area center, which is the team's most important plan for the offseason. Gafford was once Doncic's best penalty area partner in 2024, and worked together to stage countless wonderful all-connected dunks. However, Rivers, who the Lakers want to sell, is too expensive for the Mavericks, so it is very possible to pull into a three-party transaction, among which Simmons of the Trail Blazers is the most suitable candidate.

Simmons may be the best non-All-Star defender on the market this year, a critical period scorer who was seriously underestimated. Even as Davis and Irving grew older, the 25-year-old Simmons may still become Flag's long-term partner, and the Trail Blazers originally planned to trade Simmons to allow the 2023 Tenhua Henderson to take over.

Quinn finally stated at the end of the article that perhaps the biggest potential factor that can prevent the Lakers and Mavericks from completing this deal is only league chairman Adam Silver who interfered in this incident because he was worried about the fans' impressions and the further heating of conspiracy theories.