OKC 'Thank You' Note? Mavs Trades with Thunder Big Storyline for Second Round Playoff Series
After knocking off the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the NBA playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks secured a second-round date with the Oklahoma City Thunder, which gets underway on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. on TNT.
As the Mavs make their way up I-35 for Game 1, perhaps Dallas GM Nico Harrison should consider bringing a “thank you” note with him to give to Thunder GM Sam Presti. After all, Presti has played a huge part in not only transforming this season for the Mavs but also the near future as well.
During the 2023 NBA Draft nearly one full year ago, the Mavs traded their No. 10 pick, which became rookie guard Cason Wallace, and Davis Bertans to OKC for the No. 12 pick, which turned into rookie big man Dereck Lively II.
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Lively has been a godsend for Dallas, averaging 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks through 55 regular-season games while shooting 74.7 percent from the field. He also played a huge part in the Mavs’ six-game series win over the Clippers, hovering around that same efficiency while providing elite rim presence.
The draft night trade got the wheels turning on reshaping the Mavs’ roster and team identity, but it wasn’t the move that completed the process. Before this season’s trade deadline, the Mavs traded for P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford, which helped turn the Mavs into one of the best defensive teams in the league. Again, OKC was involved.
For the Mavs to acquire Gafford from the Washington Wizards, they needed to include a pick from the 2024 draft. The Thunder helped the Mavs out by swapping one of their 2024 first-round picks for a 2028 pick swap from Dallas. The Mavs then completed the trade with the Wizards, sending Richaun Holmes and that OKC first-round pick for Gafford.
In 29 regular-season games with the Mavs, Gafford averaged 11.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks while shooting 78.0 percent from the field. For the entire season, Gafford shot 72.5 percent from the field, which was the highest mark in the NBA. Gafford started the postseason off slow, but he picked up with each passing game, culminating with a 13-point performance in Game 6 that featured an intense poster dunk over Clippers center Ivica Zubac.
“[Lively] is only 20 years old. And he also, since we got him, has changed the culture here.” Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said of Lively before also praising Gafford. “One has to start and the other has to come off the bench. And they’ve been both great in those roles.”
Now, after all the dust of the first round has settled, here the Mavs are, facing the team that essentially gifted them two of their biggest roster pieces that figure to have a big impact well beyond this season. The biggest storyline of this series will likely be the battle that will take place between MVP finalists Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but the subplot of how Gafford, Lively, and Wallace perform in this series will be intriguing to watch as well.
“Obviously, they’re young. But they’re hungry and talented,” Mavs guard Dante Exum said of the top-seeded Thunder. “It’s not going to be an easy series. It’s going to be a battle. And everyone here knows that. So we’re going to take a day to recover and come back prepared.”
OKC is young and supremely talented. It’s no mistake that they’re the No. 1 seed in an extremely tough Western Conference. With that being said, though, the Mavs’ star tandem of Doncic and Kyrie Irving have deep playoff experience that could help put Dallas over the top … especially since they now have elite frontcourt depth, again, thanks in large part to OKC helping them execute the two trades.