Dallas Mavericks
Marquee player who needs a fresh start: Jaden Hardy
The Dallas Mavericks will be looking to finally get over the hump to win a championship this season and they're certainly on the right track toward making that happen. But even as the Mavs begin to trend in the right direction, there is one player who may benefit from a change of scenery heading into the new calendar year. That's Jaden Hardy. After some promising stretches during the first few seasons in Dallas, it may be time for a change.
Hardy is having a career low in overall production and offensive efficiency. Even though he hasn't developed as perhaps the Mavs hoped he would after three years in the league, he's still too young to give up on at this point. But, at the same rate, Hardy may never reach his full potential on the Mavs. Dallas is trying to contend for a championship and Hardy's role on the team is quickly dwindling as they add more talent around their core. You'd have to imagine that Hardy would embrace a fresh start at this point in his career.
Denver Nuggets
Marquee player who needs a fresh start: Michael Porter Jr.
Even before all the trade whispers began to grow, the argument could've been made that if the Denver Nuggets were interested in a retooling of the roster, it was going to have to include the departure of Michael Porter Jr. MPJ is a good player, and has developed nicely over the first few years of his career but the Nuggets may have hit their peak as a team. Sometimes change is good and for the Nuggets, they may have already arrived at that point in their development as a franchise.
Now that the trade whispers begin to grow even more, the Nuggets may have arrived at a point of no return. Even though the NBA is a business, it could be difficult for both MPJ and the rest of the locker room to work past. Trade rumors are a part of the NBA business but the Nugget have made it quite clear they're already thinking about the possibility of trading MPJ. At that point, they might as well just pull the trigger. It may end up being in the best interest of both sides.