LARKIN LANDS IN DALLAS FOR THREE PLAYERS
The Dallas Mavericks acquired the rights to point guard Shane Larkin and cash considerations from the Atlanta Hawks for the rights to center Lucas Nogueira, the rights to center-power forward Mike Muscala, and combo guard Jared Cunningham.
What does it give the Dallas Mavericks
The Mavs are a team in flux lately, having fallen a bit flat after winning the NBA title two years ago. They still have superstar {P Dirk Nowitzki} around, and as long as they do, expect them to try to contend. That makes a ready and underrated point guard such as Larkin a great add for this team, since they struggled to find consistency at the point spot last season and Larkin can step in right away. Moving three players here helps pay for Larkin's guaranteed rookie salary.
What does it give the Atlanta Hawks
Dallas got Nogueira from Boston in an earlier trade (for {P Kelly Olynyk}) and the Hawks seem intent on stockpiling potentially stellar project players (after also drafting {P Dennis Schroeder} this year). Cunningham has talent but didn't quite pan out in Dallas, while Muscala is a very solid player who may have quite a long NBA career (because he can do a lot of things on the court and is a mature hard worker).
Fantasy impact
Larkin has definite Rookie of the Year potential if he gets off to a good start with Dallas, so taking him in the third or fourth round of most fantasy drafts isn't a bad risk. This trade clearly muddies the immediate fantasy futures of Dallas point guards {P Mike James} and {P Darren Collison}. On the Atlanta side of the swap, it's probably not realistic to expect much at all from any of Nogueira, Cunningham, or Muscala anytime soon.
