It wouldn’t be an absolute shock if the Dallas Mavericks were major players in free agency this summer. Coming off a 2016-17 season that saw the Mavs put up their worst record in two decades, owner Mark Cuban cannot be happy about the status quo.
Dallas could have up to $33 million to spend in free agency. And while that’s dependent on what the team decides to do with future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki, the expectation has to be that he’ll take a pay cut.
In this, the Mavericks appear to be dipping their toes in free agency already. Even with well over a month to go before the unofficial start of the offseason, the team is reportedly interested in New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday.
“One team that’s interested in free agent point guard Jrue Holdiay? The Dallas Mavericks. League sources say members of the Mavericks organization view Holiday as a free agent target this summer,” ESPN’s Ian Begley reported on Thursday. “Holiday will likely command top dollar on the market and Dallas would probably have to clear some cap space to make Holiday a competitive offer.”
The free-agent market at point guard is expected to be plentiful with the likes of Stephen Curry, Derrick Rose, Kyle Lowry, Jeff Teague, George Hill and Chris Paul all set to hit the open market. Assuming Curry re-signs with the Warriors, that’s still a solid group of players.
Last season saw Dallas rely on the likes of Yogi Ferrell and Seth Curry run the point. Needless to say, an upgrade could be of use here. Holiday averaged 15.4 points and 7.3 assists per game last season for New Orleans. In terms of running an offense, he might be among the best options on the free-agent market.