The Dallas Mavericks are expected to be aggressive pursuing top talent in free agency, but they reportedly will not be targeting Jimmy Butler.
Mike Fisher of 247 Sports reports the Mavericks worry that signing Butler would not be good for budding superstar Luka Doncic. He wrote that the “Mavs’ view on Butler (assuming he declines his 2019-20 player option, something he is expected to do) is that he would not pair well with Doncic, that he wouldn’t share well, that he wouldn’t ‘play nice with others’ here … all of which would, in their eyes, stunt the growth of the young franchise centerpiece.”
Truthfully, it’s not hard to find some bit of evidence that backs up that belief. Butler hasn’t been the easiest teammate to get along with during his career.
And if the Mavericks do think his style of play wouldn’t mesh well with Doncic, then by all means they should stay away. However, Fisher notes that the Mavericks aren’t opposed to bringing in another distributor who would handle the ball a lot. For that reason, he says Kemba Walker — a player who has been on Dallas’ radar for quite some time now — is high on their list this summer in free agency.