The Dallas Mavericks had all eyes on them as people waited to see how they would recover from the whole DeAndre Jordan fiasco. After Jordan ultimately decided to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Mavericks had a major whole at the center position, but they have acted quickly as they have acquired Zaza Pachulia from the Milwaukee Bucks, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Pachulia isn't the caliber of player that Jordan is but he is a solid, tough big guy (6'11" 240 lbs.) that can at least fill in for a year while the Mavericks make plans for next offseason. The trade was completely worth it for the Mavericks, as they only had to give Milwaukee a future second round draft pick to complete the deal, and the Mavericks were comfortable with adding Pachulia's $5.25 million expiring contract. Even after the trade, Dallas still reportedly has a little less than $12 million in cap room, and while there isn't much still out there on the market, they can either make a trade or sign Deron Williams, who is likely to be bought out by the Brooklyn Nets.
There were rumors before the Pachulia trade that the Mavericks might throw their hats into the Enes Kanter ring, but they decided not to make an offer to him because they were going to be patient. While this move wasn't exactly patient, it also wasn't a rash decision, as they found a likely one-year fill in and didn't have to give up much to get him.
As of right now, Pachulia is locked in as Dallas' starting center, and with Wesley Matthews signing a four-year $70 million offseason, the Mavericks have a solid couple of pieces to add to Dirk Nowitzki and Chandler Parsons.
Pachulia is not a flashy guy by any means. He is the type of player that likes to get under his opponents skin during a game. The Mavericks will be the 31-year-old fourth team, as he previously played eight seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, his rookie season with the Magic and the past two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Pachulia has only averaged double figures in scoring twice in his career, but scoring isn't what he does best. While he does average seven points per game for his career, he is best known for being gritty, grabbing rebounds and playing stout post defense. Last season with the Bucks, Pachulia set a career high in defensive win shares with 2.9 despite, only playing about 24 minutes per game.
The Mavericks have done well to find themselves a stop-gap at center for only a second round pick, and when Pachulia comes off the books next year, they will be able to try and find another center.
