Even though they have several players eligible for free agency this offseason, the Mavericks could attempt to keep most of their 2015/16 roster intact for next season, says Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. The team was plagued by injuries down the stretch, but head coach Rick Carlisle likes the group and would like to see a number of players return.
Whether or not the Mavericks’ roster undergoes significant changes, the club will be on the lookout for players that can contribute on the glass, Sneed writes in separate piece. “We’ve got to get some monsters that push and shove, throw people out of the way and go get the ball,” Carlisle said, suggesting that rebounders will be a priority in Dallas. Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News identifies 20 free agents that would make sense for the Mavs, and many of those players – including Al Horford, Hassan Whiteside, and Dwight Howard – would help address the team’s mediocre rebounding numbers.
Here’s more from out of the Southwest:
- Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune wouldn’t be surprised if the Pelicans, who are in win-now mode, use the sixth overall pick in a trade, like they did three years ago when they acquired Jrue Holiday using a pair of draft picks.
- It’s rare for a 67-win team to face a significant amount of roster questions and potential turnover, but the Spurs find themselves in that situation as the summer approaches, writes Bobby Marks of The Vertical. As Marks outlines, San Antonio has a pair of foundational pieces in Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge, but it could be tricky to upgrade the roster around them.
- Speaking of those Spurs, veteran guard Manu Ginobili intends to meet with Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan, and others eventually as he weighs his options and decides whether to continue his NBA career. RealGM.com has the details, via La Nacion.
The Mavericks can bring back all of their free agents, but they’ll come with the same injury risk next season.
And the same lack of potential
Pelicans should just keep that pick unless they can get a young, not injury prone player in return. I mean, isn’t Anthony Davis their last first round pick (that they didn’t end up trading)? I get being in win now mode, but I doubt that pick alone gets the type of player they want/need to make them a serious contender and with little value on the rest of their roster (outside of Davis and maybe Holiday and Evans) they don’t have much else to trade. With no real young guys they’re developing, they’re forced to acquire talent through free agency, which leads to contracts like Omer Asik’s.
You know if you take Parsons and let him walk away in free agency, you can always go after Nick Batum. He had a great year for Charlotte and he would be a nice fit but I could see Justin Anderson in the lineup next season. He’s done very well for the Mavericks. Big guy too and he can get those boards too. If we can get a big man on our roster let’s say Al Horford, he would be a nice addition for Dirk and company. I would like to see if the Mavs can at least go after Boogie Cousins or Melo if possible. That would be nice but like everyone says that we only have one draft pick but we could lose it because of the trade last season for Rondo. I hated that trade even though he is a great passer. Terrible shooter though. If bringing in Mike Conley is going to help with our production at point next season, then Dallas better figure out a way for Conley to come here because a lot of teams will be on Conley. All in all I think Dallas will have another big off-season and it better be good. Otherwise the mavericks will be in that wild card race again with Utah Houston and Memphis.