Mavericks To Target Pass-First PGs In Offseason

The Mavericks have an interesting collection of players at the point guard spot, with Seth Curry and Yogi Ferrell enjoying breakout seasons while veterans like Devin Harris and J.J. Barea continue to contribute as well. Still, team owner Mark Cuban recognizes that the Mavs will need to address the point guard spot this summer, particularly since the team is lacking a pass-first player at the position.

“We got to get better at point, there’s no question,” Cuban said, per Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. “If we can’t do it in the draft, we’ll look at free agency and see what we can do. Yogi is going to get better. Seth will continue to get better. I’d love to see Nico [Brussino] play some point forward and see how that works. He’s probably one of our best passers.

“We’ll have depth, but we have to get that one pass-first point guard. That’s what we don’t have.”

For the last several years, the Mavericks have been making an effort to identify a long-term solution at both the point guard and center positions. The club may have struck gold with trade deadline acquisition Nerlens Noel, who will be a restricted free agent this summer but is expected to stick with Dallas. With a potential long-term center in place, the Mavs will make it a priority to find a point guard, and they should have a few options.

This year’s draft is considered a strong one for point guards, though Dallas likely won’t pick high enough to land one of the very best prospects, such as Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball. But it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the team could snag one of the second-tier options, like Dennis Smith Jr., De’Aaron Fox, or Frank Ntilikina. In Chad Ford’s latest mock draft at ESPN.com, he has the Mavs grabbing Ntilikina at No. 9, noting that the club would be “stoked” to draft the 18-year-old.

If the Mavs don’t use their lottery pick on a point guard, there will be plenty of alternatives in free agency, though once again the very best options may be out of reach. Top free agent point guards like Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, and Kyle Lowry are considered likely to remain with their current teams. Still, there are several other free agents who could potentially be had, including George Hill, Jeff Teague, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick Rose. Pass-first vets like Ricky Rubio and Rajon Rondo could also be available via trade.

In an ideal scenario, the Mavs would be able to land a point guard who could complement Harrison Barnes as one of the franchise’s core pieces going forward, writes Sefko. Cuban points to Minnesota, a Western Conference rival with several promising young pieces on its roster, as the sort of club the Mavs have to catch up to in terms of top talent.

“We don’t have Minnesota’s star power,” Cuban said. “We still need to add. It would be great if we made Harrison our second-best player. But that’s not easy to do. We’ll see what happens. We’re going to keep on trying to get better. Instead of just hoping guys come back healthy, we have guys who are going to get better.”

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