The Dallas Mavericks may not be done tinkering yet, and in this mock three-team deal, they finally solve a real problem by turning Klay Thompson into Malik Monk.
Miami’s reported interest in Thompson is the spark here, but the Heat don’t have much the Mavericks would be eager to chase at this point. So the proposed framework sends Thompson to Miami, Monk to Dallas, and Nikola Jovic to Sacramento, with the Kings also collecting a second-round pick from both Dallas and Miami.
It works on the books, and it gives each team something it needs. Miami gets Thompson and more perimeter shooting.
Sacramento takes a swing on Jovic. Dallas, though, comes away with the best piece of the bunch: Monk, a 28-year-old guard who can score, create, and take pressure off Kyrie Irving.
That part matters most for the Mavericks. Marcus Sasser and Sergio De Larrea are the only other backup point guards on the roster, so Dallas badly needs help behind Irving. Monk would fill that void right away, and he’d likely start some games too.
The fit also makes more sense than a simple one-for-one Thompson-for-Jovic swap, which some Mavericks fans have pushed online. Dallas already has Santi Aldama as a supercharged version of what Jovic brings, so adding another big or wing doesn’t solve the roster the way a guard does.
From a value standpoint, Dallas would be getting the best player in the deal while giving up only a second-round pick in draft capital. Sacramento might want a first-rounder and Jovic to part with Monk, but after Monk’s down season on a rough Kings team, the leverage isn’t what it would have been a year ago.
If Monk looks anything like he did in 2024-25, Dallas would be landing one of the league’s better secondary creators in his prime. He’s listed around 6-foot-2 or 6-foot-3, but his elite athleticism helps cover for the size gap on defense. He also shot 39.5 percent from three on 5.1 attempts per game last season, and he’s the kind of shot-maker who can bend an offense.
He wouldn’t fix every issue for Dallas, especially on the point of attack defensively. But he would give the Mavericks another shooter and one of the best backup point guard options they could realistically find for Irving.
Losing Thompson would cut into Dallas’ shooting, but the writing seems to be on the wall that the team will move on from him before next season’s trade deadline anyway. In this scenario, the Mavericks would be getting premium value instead of waiting for a buyout for the 36-year-old. That’s why this mock deal earns Dallas an A+.
In Other News...
Mavericks May Finally Have The Roster Dusty May Wants
The Mavericks have quietly built a roster that looks a lot more like the kind of team Dusty May has spent his career trying to coach. Dallas is now carrying an average height of about 6-foot-7, with a collection of long, mobile defenders and enough frontcourt size to give its new coach the sort of lineup flexibility he has leaned on at Florida Atlantic and Michigan. For a team trying to match its personnel to a fresh voice on the sideline, that is a meaningful starting point.
Mays best teams have always been defined by size, length and versatility, especially up front, and Dallas appears to have the ingredients to follow that blueprint. The alignment is obvious in the way the roster is built now, with multiple tall pieces who can protect the rim, switch on the perimeter and rebound in traffic. The next question is how far that fit can go once May starts sorting through the combinations that could make the most of it. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks May Be Preparing For Life After Klay Thompson
The Mavericks have quietly added another name to the mix as they keep sorting out their perimeter future, signing Tarik Biberovic to a two-year deal and giving themselves a look at a player whose shooting profile has long stood out in Europe. Dallas has been searching for more reliable spacing, and Biberovics track record from beyond the arc is part of what makes him an intriguing fit for a roster that is trying to get younger and more flexible around its next core.
Biberovics arrival also adds another layer to the conversation around Klay Thompson, whose place in Dallas has become a real question as the team weighs its options. For the Mavericks, this is about more than one roster spot. It is about whether they can keep reshaping the backcourt and wing rotation in a way that better matches the direction they want to go, with Cooper Flagg and the rest of the young group in mind. [Read more 🡒]