The Mavericks have mulled the possibility of adding one more ball-handling veteran to their roster before the start of the season, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack article.
Currently, the Mavs have 14 players on guaranteed standard contracts and one (Tyler Dorsey) on a two-way deal, so there would be room to add another player to the 15-man regular season roster and/or via a two-way contract.
According to Stein, Dallas believes there’s a good argument for leaving that 15th roster spot open for now, since it would allow the team to maintain some roster flexibility and wouldn’t further increase its projected luxury tax bill. It’s possible the Mavs will stand pat for now and allow players like Frank Ntilikina, Josh Green, and Dorsey to vie for a regular ball-handling role in training camp and the preseason, Stein writes.
The Mavs already have two strong options to handle the ball, with superstar Luka Doncic and veteran guard Spencer Dinwiddie both expected to play major roles. But the team did lose Jalen Brunson in free agency this offseason and hasn’t acquired an obvious replacement for him.
As we outlined over the weekend, a pair of high-ranking Mavericks executives – president of basketball operations Nico Harrison and VP of basketball ops Michael Finley – were in attendance on Saturday to watch Dennis Schröder and the Germans defeat the Bosnian national team at EuroBasket. Schröder is one veteran free agent who could be on Dallas’ radar. Eric Bledsoe, Facundo Campazzo, Elfrid Payton, and Dennis Smith Jr. are among the others available, Stein notes.
One option for the Mavs if they don’t want to lock a player into that 15th roster spot for the entire season would be to carry a point guard on a non-guaranteed contract this fall, giving the club the flexibility to make a change without having to eat that 15th man’s full salary. However, it’s unclear how many of the top veteran free agents left on the market would accept non-guaranteed deals.
Frank wake up ……
I would think Schroder would be a good depth pickup for Mavs. Or any playoff team. Wonder why he’s not signed yet.
Bledsoe too. At this point both are good adds
Both these guys probably have offers for the minimum in several places so perhaps holding out for just a little more money before they commit? Either that or waiting for a guaranteed deal rather than make good deal.
that or those guys are standing pat until an injury happens so they can potentially get playing time, which if all offers are equal, is all that matters for future contracts
It’s a combination of the Westbrook situation and fallout from the Mitchell/Gobert trades.
If Utah trades for Westbrook then buys him out some team may take a shot on the cheap at seeing if Westbrook in a different situation has something left in the tank.
The same applies with Conley. If the Jazz can’t find a trade they may do him a solid and buy him out for cap relief and give him an opportunity to play meaningful basketball.
This post makes no sense at all.
Agreed. The over abundance of serviceable veterans this late into the offseason is 100% attributable to KDs drama in Brooklyn. The entire league was on pause until that got resolved
Seems wrong. It’s been 2 weeks since the drama ended, and none of the (allegedly) serviceable veterans has been signed.
Schröder & Luka should be the Hawks backcourt rn smh. Elf Payton would be a better fit for Dallas tho. I’d rather see Dennis in Toronto
Schröder wouldn’t even be playing with Luka. He’d be part of the second unit.
Sankara doesn’t get bogged down with logic.
In Atl they would’ve been the starting backcourt & most likely would still be the starting backcourt if they would’ve resigned Schröder & drafted Luka like I badly wanted them too
Lolz can’t be bogged down with reading comprehension.
The fail started with the username and it’s been all downhill since.
Man you gotta be stoked about Murray and Trae. Don’t even like Hawks. But that is a very talented backcourt. Wanna see how they fit and play.
Draft Luka??? Wasn’t he already off the board????
The Hawks traded Luka to Dallas for Trae and a conditional 1st.
There is NOT a team in the NBA that would have Dennis Schroeder starting in their backcourt in 2022-23.
Ah yes because bench guards never play with starting guards. Are you new to basketball?
@lionel they do, but he’d more likely be playing alongside jaden hardy or frank ntilikina. two guards that are best with the ball in their hands aren’t great out there and most coaches would know that
Should get McBride from the Knicks, or Jokubaitis.
They’re looking for a veteran. McBride has one year under his belt.
Are the Mavs top 5 teams in the nba now?
no, they arguably got worse this offseason
If Luka took another step this off season then maybe, he is that good. Last season’s playoff run was impressive last year. They got past the Jazz with Luka missing 3 games and beat the regular season best Suns before falling to the eventual champs. I think losing Brunson hurts the team more than people think though.
No it doesn’t.
Christian Wood makes up the difference and some.
maybe not top 5 cuz everyone’s so close but definitely top 10 and a borderline “if everything goes right” kind of contender
1.GSW
2.Celtics
3.Bucks
4.Clippers
5. Suns/Nets
So the answer is no.
The names listed after Schroeder – Payton, Facundo, Smith Jr, Bledsoe – are pretty bleak. I’m not even sure Luka could revive life into their careers at this point – and for what it’s worth Payton and Facundo are “ball handlers” in a pretty loose sense of the word; neither has been known for creating much when they do handle the ball.
Smith Jr is young enough that maybe he’s worth a gamble if they can’t get Schroeder. Dinwiddie seems to play really well next to Luka, so I could see Dennis sliding into a pure 6th man role and possibly thriving.
Give smith a shot again. You already ruined his career
Payton is (or was) a good ball handler and facilitator, and an outstanding defender. Not the best fit with Luka, but Kidd will figure out how to use him.