The Mavericks stay focused on acquiring another All-Star caliber player to complete Luka Doncic after having tacitly recognized by the trade Kristaps Porzingis in February that he was the wrong person, sources told veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein. The Mavs won’t have salary cap space to sign a player of that caliber anytime soon, so if they try to acquire a star this summer, it will likely have to be done via trade.
Dallas has been linked to Jazz big man Rudy Gobert, but Stein’s sources say the Mavs’ interest in the three-time Defensive Player of the Year has been overstated. As Stein explains, the team knows they need to improve their rim protection and rebound, but have succeeded with a five-out approach this postseason and will likely pursue a more “profitable” option at center.
According to Stein, Bulls guardian Zach LaVine is a potential target that intrigues the Mavericks, who apparently like the idea of adding another slasher and wing scorer, especially after seeing the effectiveness Spencer Dinwiddie was this season alongside Doncic.
However, LaVine is a free agent this summer and it would be a challenge for the Mavs to sign and trade for him. and resign Jalen Brunson, since the team’s salary would be well beyond the projected tax apron – any club that acquires a player via sign-and-trade becomes apron-capped for the remainder of that league year. If acquiring LaVine isn’t realistic, Dallas will likely look to other options on the wing, Stein said.
Here’s more from the Mavs, whose season ended Thursday at Golden State:
- President of Basketball Operations Nico Harrison downplayed the need to bring in another All-Star caliber player. “There are teams…that have a bunch of All-Stars, and they were sitting at home watching us play. Harrison said during his season-ending presser on Friday (Twitter link via Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News). “Yeah, you have to keep improving the roster, but I don’t think it’s just about getting a bunch of All-Stars. It’s about finding people who fit.
- Harrison said that re-signing Jalen Brunson will be the Mavericks’ “top priority” this offseason (Twitter link via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype). “We want to re-sign him. He knows it,” said Harrison. “We want him back. It will be a big part of our future. Owner of Mav Marc Cuban also spoke about the team’s desire to retain Brunson, as we highlighted earlier today.
- As Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News reports, Cuban admitted he didn’t know what to expect heading into the 2021/22 season after the team went through front office and coaching changes. He was happy to see the Mavs establish an identity over the year. “Hard game. Physical. Multi-talented, able to complement Luka”, Cuban said when describing the type of player that fits that identity. “Knowing how to play with Luka. It’s probably number one. But yeah, you saw how we played it. guys like Reggie Bullock. Spencer, when he came, got it. Davis Bertans. (Dorian Finney Smith). Dwight (Powell). Everybody. There’s no one you can name who didn’t play as hard as they could and knew their part.
- An Eastern Conference executive who spoke to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon believes the Mavericks are “one player away” from being a legitimate title contender. According to MacMahon, that view is shared by other rival coaches, executives and scouts he’s spoken to about Dallas’ prospects. For his part, Doncic said after Thursday’s loss that he thought the Mavs were “on a very, very good path.”
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) and HoopsHype’s Yossi Gozlan released their offseason previews for the Mavericks, while Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus and SI.com’s Chris Mannix and Howard Beck also looked at some closer the situation of the team list in the future.