Three trades the Dallas Mavericks should make with the San Antonio Spurs

Option 3: Dallas receives Devin Vassell, Doug McDermott, and Zach Collins for Davis Bertans, Tim Hardaway Jr., first-round picks in 2025, 2027, and 2029, and second-round picks in 2027 & 2029

This third option is the least likely, and easily the most questionable. Why on earth would the San Antonio Spurs give up their most valuable player? Two reasons: draft picks and trade assets.

The two Mavericks players listed in this scenario would fit well on the current roster. We've been invested in Hardaway for some time, and he is an upgrade as a shooter; he scores more and better than McDermott. Bertans comes over mostly to make salary work, but three unprotected picks is a solid return for Vassell.

The Dallas Mavericks are in possession of lucrative draft positioning for upcoming seasons.  And given the present-day situation of both clubs, it is clear the Spurs need those more than the Mavericks do, just as the Mavericks need another championship more than the Spurs do.

To many Spurs fans, discussions like this may seem depressing, uncomfortable, and just downright sad, especially when there is a trade with a rival like Dallas being discussed. I felt this negativity wave come over me the other night at the AT&T center.

Then suddenly, the Admiral, David Robinson himself, appeared in front of my wife and I. I shook his hand, and as he smiled and turned away, I glanced high into the rafters and remembered one thing that makes trade talks with rivals like this bearable during a season unlike any other.  

San Antonio has five banners, and Dallas has one