[Cato] Mavs and Pistons discussed Tim Hardaway Jr. and JaVale McGee for Bojan Bogdanovic and Kylian Hayes but talks stalled at some point

Late last week, multiple league sources said that the Mavericks and the Detroit Pistons renewed conversations about a Bojan Bogdanović trade. Dallas had previously considered trading for Bogdanović at last season’s deadline, but Detroit’s asking price of a first-round pick was considered too high for the Dallas front office.

League sources say that the talks were sturdy enough to discuss a potential trade framework — Bogdanović and Killian Hayes coming to Dallas, Tim Hardaway Jr. and JaVale McGee going out — but it’s unclear what else would have been required from each party to expand it to a four-team deal and what ultimately caused those talks, however serious, to stall. (Dallas is incredibly cautious to trade its 2027 first-round pick, one team source says, which the team could not put typical protections due to the first-rounders which it owes.) By Tuesday afternoon, Dallas’ front office was content with completing the Williams sign-and-trade as it existed without additions.