NBA Free Agency 2013: Dallas Mavericks Reach Out to Monta Ellis
By Josh Hill
The Dallas Mavericks have entered this NBA free agency period in the offseason with the priority of signing top target Dwight Howard. He’s being coveted by as many as four teams and more are hoping that they can pull off the upset and steal him away from either the Lakers, Mavericks or Rockets. But while Dallas is hellbent on getting Howard to the Big D, Mark Cuban is a business man and realizes he needs contingency plans in case Howard doesn’t sign with the Mavericks.
It was reported that the Mav’s met with Andre Iguodala and consider him to be the next biggest target to Howard but according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News, Monta Ellis is a guy that could be coming to town and the Mavericks met with the guard on Monday to establish a connection.
"Iguodala might not be the top alternative to Howard for the Mavericks, but he’s on the short list. The Mavericks also reached out to the representatives of players like Monta Ellis, Andrew Bynum and others."
Sefko is right when he says none of these guys equal what Howard would bring to the team, but while fans would be crushed if they didn’t land the top free agent in the class, adding Iguodala or Ellis — or both — wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world that could happen.
It’s clear that the Mavericks are focused on Howard but unlike his other suitors, they’re being much more realistic. Cuban has it set up so if the Mav’s get burned by Howard, the team can move fast to pick up other top free agents to soothe the pain and still remain a contender in 2013-14.