The Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves both hold lottery picks in this week’s NBA Draft. Not only do they have high draft picks, but each team rosters movable assets as well that they may look to unload this offseason.
According to ESPN’s Tim McMahon, two of these assets in Ricky Rubio and Wesley Matthews were involved in recent trade discussions. The trade talks have died down now, but each team’s lottery pick (for the Mavs 9th and for the Wolves 7th) was also involved in the proposed deal.
Sources say Mavs and Timberwolves discussed swapping Wesley Matthews and the No. 9 pick for Ricky Rubio and No. 7. However, a source described those talks as “dead” at this point. Dallas does not feel urgency to move up from No. 9.
If this trade were to have been agreed upon, it would’ve been an interesting move for both sides. Ricky Rubio has been involved in trade rumors for the past few seasons now and the Mavs are in desperate need of someone who can run the show, a capability Rubio would bring to the table in spades.
But the return for Rubio’s services would’ve been questionable, even if Wesley Matthews is considered the better player. If the Wolves were to get Matthews in exchange for their point guard, it wouldn’t have made much sense as Minnesota already has their starting wing pair for years to come in young studs Zach LaVine and Andrew Wiggins.
Knowing what we know, we shouldn’t expect the Mavs to make a move prior to Thursday as it seems Dallas is content with who they will have a chance at taking with the 9th pick.
