Luol Deng rumors: Dallas Mavericks first to call

The Dallas Mavericks have been trying to make a big move in the offseason in each of the last few seasons.

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The 2014 offseason will be no different. The Mavericks are reportedly going to make a play for New York Knicks’ forward Carmelo Anthony, believing that an Anthony/Dirk Nowitzki combination at forward would turn the Mavericks into one of the league’s elite offenses. It seems unlikely that they will land Anthony, which means they may seek other options. One option could be Houston Rockets’ forward Chandler Parsons, who is now a restricted free agent. Another may be Cleveland Cavaliers’ forward Luol Deng.

According to Adrian Wojnaorwski of Yahoo Sports, the Mavericks were the first team to call Deng once free agency started.

Although Deng has played a lot of minutes over the last few years and many are above the belief Chicago Bulls’ head coach Tom Thibodeau ran Deng into the ground. The reasoning behind Thibodeau’s use or perhaps over use of Deng is simple – Deng has been one of the game’s premiere perimeter players and Thibodeau values defense higher than any other part of the game. Deng could help the Mavericks defend on the wing while occasionally knocking down shots from the outside when left open. In others, Deng would be a solid fit in Dallas.

Deng averaged 16.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 43.1% from the field, 30.2% from three and 79.1% from the charity stripe.