Orlando Magic Rumors: Dallas Mavericks ramping up Dennis Smith Jr. talks, Orlando Magic listening

The NBA rumor mill is in full swing with the Dallas Mavericks reportedly ramping up a push to trade Dennis Smith Jr. The Orlando Magic are reportedly one of the teams listening.

The Dallas Mavericks have caught lightning in a bottle with Luka Doncic that has sped up the team’s timeline and given them a seemingly bona fide star.

Luka Doncic’s ballhandling skills from the shooting guard position has caused the team to rethink another of its young players in Dennis Smith Jr. And the Mavericks may now be pushing to trade their second-year guard sooner than later.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports the Mavericks are increasing their urgency to deal Smith before the Feb. 7 trade deadline. And the Orlando Magic are among the teams discussing a potential deal for the promising guard.

Ongoing talks can mean just about anything. There has been no secret around the league the Magic are searching for some point guard help. It makes sense that they would turn their sights on Smith.

There have been rumblings throughout the season about Smith’s fit in Dallas after the addition of rookie standout Doncic. Those whispers appear to be growing louder, understandably so.

It is largely believed Orlando was deciding between Jonathan Isaac and Dennis Smith Jr. with the sixth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Getting him now would certainly fill a position of need.

The Magic entered the season with clear deficiencies at point guard. Some analysts even suggested Orlando had the worst point guard rotation in the league.

While the Magic lack depth at the position, current ball handler D.J. Augustin has out-performed all expectations. So it does not feel as dire. Yet, the team has struggled to find an answer behind him. Jerian Grant struggled in the position and Isaiah Briscoe is a young player going through the NBA for the first time. He has shown promise — if not the propensity to foul.

The point guard rotation has reached a crisis point with the struggling Jonathon Simmons filling in for a short stretch. The Magic are one disaster away from being in a really difficult spot while trying to aim for the Playoffs.

Smith would fill that need with the potential scoring he would provide. The fit in Dallas just no longer seems to work with the direction the team is headed. Smith’s numbers are down across the board this year with Doncic’s addition.

After a solid rookie year averaging 15.2 points, 5.2 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game, Smith is down to 12.6 points, 3.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game this year. He is shooting an improved 37.5 percent from beyond the arc and has his effective field goal percentage better than 50 percent. That is some progress.

But his raw counting stats regression, partly attributed to his role change, has persuaded the Mavericks to test the trade market for Smith.

There is no news yet about the Mavericks’ asking price for the second year guard. Ideally, the Magic would be able to hold onto the three young members of their core in Mohamed Bamba, Jonathan Isaac and Aaron Gordon, while adding a much needed young point guard.

But that may just be a far fetched dream for the Magic and their fans. The Mavericks invested a Lottery pick in Smith, to begin with, and it likely would take a lot for them to give up on him this soon into his career.

It feels equally as likely the Mavericks would want to shed some of their bigger salaries to make a deal work. Harrison Barnes is owed $25 million next year if he picks up his player option, for instance. That might be the kind of deal the Magic would be willing to take on. But getting salaries to match that would be difficult even if the team includes Evan Fournier.

This would help the Mavericks shed some salary for next year and give them a bit more flexibility. But Evan Fournier has one more year left on his deal than Harrison Barnes.

Dallas is also in a Playoff race of their own — trailing the final Playoff spot in the Western Conference by three games. They are not likely looking to get worse. They will push for Terrence Ross over Jonathon Simmons and may even push for the Magic’s first-round pick to give up on Smith.

That is unless the team puts Aaron Gordon on the table. That feels very unlikely this early in his contract. But that would be the kind of price you have to pay. Gordon would help match salaries with Barnes, at the very least.

And trading Nikola Vucevic to acquire a young player like Dennis Smith (and likely also Wesley Matthews to make salaries match) would essentially be capitulating the season.

Trading the team’s first-round pick might also be the cost of doing business. But that feels very risky. Trading the first round pick now is essentially betting the team will make the Playoffs. Otherwise, it will be in the top 10.

The contours of any deal involving Dennis Smith then seems to include adding Wesley Matthews or Harrison Barnes to the equation with Evan Fournier or Terrence Ross heading the other way with either their first-round pick or that future Oklahoma City Thunder first-round pick in tow.

Is that enough to make a deal? Is that something the Magic should pursue? Only time will tell.

Take this rumor as more proof that Orlando is fishing the point guard market and continuing discussions with the trade deadline three weeks away.