3 players the Mavs can add not named Kyrie Irving or Draymond Green
Who can the Dallas Mavericks add in the offseason other than Kyrie Irving or Draymond Green?
The Dallas Mavericks‘ first order of business when free agency opens on June 30 will be negotiating the terms of Kyrie Irving’s next contract. Irving could always balk at the last second, but all signs point toward the controversial All-Star continuing his partnership with Luka Doncic for the foreseeable future.
Draymond Green has also been tossed around as a potential target for the Mavs, but with no available cap space it would require a sign-and-trade. The Warriors have no incentive to trade Green to Dallas unless he can credibly threaten to leave for nothing, meaning another team with cap space (Houston, Sacramento, San Antonio) would have to get in the mix too.
Let’s call a spade a spade: the Mavs aren’t going to sign Draymond. That’s just noise. Dallas will, however, look to flesh out the roster around Doncic and Irving with free agents and trades.
According to CBAMavs of Mavs Moneyball, Dallas will have the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception (worth a shade over $12 million) if Irving takes a discount on his next deal. A proposed extension of four years, $179.2 million — as opposed to the maximum possible contract value of four years, $213.3 million — would give Dallas that flexibility.
Since Irving’s market is virtually zero, one has to imagine he won’t get literal top dollar. Here are three players Dallas can get to complement him, Doncic, and the rest of the core.
No. 3 player Dallas Mavericks can add: Jakob Poeltl
With NBA teams frantically reorganizing the books in advance of the new collective bargaining agreement, players like Jakob Poeltl could suffer a more barren free agency market than expected. The Raptors want to keep Poeltl after trading assets to acquire him in February, but ultimately the decision rests with Poeltl.
If the Raptors don’t significantly outbid Dallas’ mid-level exception, Poeltl could be tempted by the perceived upside of partnering with the Mavs’ high-octane backcourt. Poeltl is a burly interior finisher who would be empowered by the pick-and-roll creation of Doncic and Irving. In Toronto, the offensive fit is far more muddled.
The Mavs spent their lottery pick on a 7-foot rim protector in Dereck Lively II, but teenagers are seldom ready to anchor playoff-level defenses in year one. The Mavs have the talent to win a lot of games; Poeltl gives them rim protection and defensive awareness in the middle that was sorely lacking last season.
Poeltl is worth more than the mid-level exception, but we’ve arrived at the point where drop coverage bigs who don’t space the floor (or shoot free throws in Poeltl’s case) simply aren’t going to get top dollar. This would be a huge win for Dallas.