NBA Rumors: Dallas Mavericks to pursue Trevor Ariza, Luol Deng, Spencer Hawes & Marcin Gortat

The Dallas Mavericks will likely make a run at the cream of the crop in free agency, like New York Knicks’ forward Carmelo Anthony, but they’re a long shot at best to sign them.

Instead, they’ll probably have to switch their focus to a different group of players.

Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News believes Luol Deng, Spencer Hawes, Marcin Gortat, and Trevor Ariza would be good targets for the Mavericks.

"Sorry for the delay, had to do a bit of quick research for this one. There are two guys I would overpay. First, Zach Randolph. He’s not a max player, but if you think he’s the answer to your rebounding problems and can fit on the other side of the court away from Dirk Nowitzki, then he’d be a great fit. Pay the man. The other is Al Farouq-Aminu. Yes, you read that right. And by overpay, I mean you give him a mid-level exception or maybe a bit more if you feel you have stiff competition. He’s not a shooter, but his defense and rebounding would serve nicely as a replacement if Shawn Marion moves on. Again, I threw out players like Ariza, Deng, Gortat and a few others because those players are going to get huge money from somebody, so I don’t consider that overpaying."

Obviously, any of those players could really help the Mavericks and perhaps get them out of the first round in 2015.