With the trade deadline looming, the Mavs are in a strange spot. They’re not totally out of the playoff race, but continuing injuries and a rough start are probably going to make them lottery contenders. With a rebuild in mind, but wanting to hold on to cheap young talent, it’s a little unclear what if anything Dallas should do by the deadline.

With that in mind, we asked the staff: What trades do you think the Mavs should be making, if any? If they should be making trades, give some specific examples of realistic trades you'd be happy to see.

I think the Mavs need to unload Bogut and DWill, if at all possible. I have no idea what, if anything the Cavs could offer, but they surely would jump at a chance to bring on Williams. After all, LeBron's been pretty public about the need for a backup PG/playmaker.

Both Bogut and Williams are obvious here. Neither is coming back next season (hopefully?), both are valuable veterans for a contender, and getting rid of them allows the Mavericks to continue giving minutes to younger guys without having to admit to actually tanking. Having Bogut around is only going to impede Dwight Powell's development, and while the Mavs are hurting for guards right now, once (if) Barea is back healthy, J.J./Curry/Harris is a perfectly fine PG rotation for this team. Pull the trigger.

Dallas has to unload Bogut for anything they can get for him. Williams is a more difficult proposition because he seems to want to be in Dallas, which isn't the greatest look for future players if they trade him anyway.

I think at this point it is worth exploring options for moving Justin Anderson. Salah Mejri could be an RFA after his contract ends, and I think somebody might pay more than he's worth, given his age and foul rate.

Bogut has acknowledged he's not coming back and he's barely playing so let's get what we can get for him. Open up a trade exception and get a 2nd round pick or two. Possible destination might be the Spurs although I can't recall a SA-Dallas swap. They lost Gasol and he would allow Aldridge to slide back to the four. I assume Bogut would take that.

Likewise with Williams, send him to a happy place where a team is contending (Clippers/Cavs?) and has a temporary starting role/6th man role. He's got value and would be a steadying influence for them, and in the case of the Clippers, it might free them up to move Reddick/Rivers for Melo. The Mavs probably want to see JJB healthy before moving Williams unless a point guard comes back.

Dallas hasn't dramatically changed their chances of making the playoffs, but they've won just enough to stave off a full commitment to the "give up" option. In addition to this, none of the pieces that might have been considered somewhat valuable at the start of the season have done a whole lot to raise their trade value. This is especially true of Andrew Bogut. Bogut has struggled with injuries and has continued to disappear at the offensive end. It turns out, the Warriors weren't hindering his ability to contribute, they were hiding his ineffectiveness. Who knew?

The hope (dream) was at one point that Bogut (or a package featuring him) might be enough to fetch a late first rounder from a desperate team who believed they were a rim protector away from championship contention. That hope has all but deflated, and forecasting a truly inspiring return for the free agent big man to be is pretty difficult to do.

Still, if I had to guess, I'd say the two teams that make sense for Bogut are the Raptors and Celtics. Both could use some rim protection/rebounding, both have a stockpile of picks and assets, and both are seemingly on the outside of the Finals looking in with the Cavaliers looming over the East.

Looking at Toronto, a best case scenario might be something like Bogut, and a future 2nd rounder for one of the Raptors' two late first round picks, plus a combination of Jared Sullinger and a player or two (perhaps Delon Wright, who Dallas supposedly liked before the 2015 draft) necessary to make the salaries match. Sullinger is a free agent and could be auditioned for a role next year while filling in at center. The pick would be in the late 20s, but would still offer a cost-controlled salary for a young player to develop. It's not a particularly sexy move, but I'm not sure Dallas could do much better.

We all seem to agree that trading the disgruntled and ineffective Andrew Bogut for a second round pick and/or a bench big man should be priority one for the Mavericks this deadline. He's made it clear that he doesn't intend to stay next season and he hasn't been a great fit on the floor or in the locker room since he arrived. I'd like to see us ship him up to Boston (cue theme song).

I'd also like to see the Mavs shop Deron Williams. He's on the last year of his deal and as the Mavs continue their search for the point guard of the future, with some help from a certain set of ping pong balls hopefully, Williams seems like unnecessary cargo. The Cavs are looking for a capable back up for Kyrie, but they have very little cap space and trade assets left to play with, so I wouldn't bet the farm on that deal going through. That said, I'm sure the Mavs could find a suitor for Williams and even a late round pick would be more valuable than just letting him go free in the summer.