The Dallas Mavericks need help in the rebounding department, and ESPN's Nick Borges believes the team might pursue a trade for a veteran rebounder. When asked about it, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban didn't rule it out.
Dallas ranks 21st overall in rebounds per game and 24th overall in points allowed per game, evidence of the Mavericks' need to upgrade in the paint. While center Tyson Chandler is the team's defensive anchor, he needs help under the basket - the kind of help the offensive-minded Dirk Nowitzki can't provide.
With a large number of players becoming eligible to be traded on Dec. 15, Dallas could target a veteran big to fill the team's need for a defender who can rebound. Cuban, though, declined to answer whether that was something he would look remedy through a trade.
"It's the same conversation we had last year in that we've still got to learn," Cuban said, via the Dallas Morning News. "We're still trying to get better defensively, and we're still trying to improve and we will. I don't expect us to be playing our best basketball right now. I guess the bright light is we probably have more room to improve than any other teams in the West. We probably have [had] more turnover than any of those teams ahead of us. Hopefully that leads to more improvement as time goes on."
Dallas (17-7) is fourth in the Southwest Division. Scoring hasn't been a problem behind Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons and Monta Ellis, but defense has. It's uncertain which bigs, if any, Dallas would target.
Generally speaking, their best bet would be picking up the contract of somebody who's on the outs with his team. One option could be Sacramento Kings power forward Jason Thompson, who's averaging 5.1 points and 6.5 rebounds in just under 30 minutes per game.
The Kings are believed to be willing to part with him.
