The Dallas Mavericks could be in store for a big summer. Two of the Mavericks' targets in free agency reportedly are Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley and Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, with a trade for Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson said to be under consideration as a backup plan.
Dallas likely will lose guard Rajon Rondo - and possibly guard Monta Ellis - in free agency, but it could gain a whole lot more by the time the offseason is through. One of the latest names linked to Dallas is Beverley, the soon-to-be restricted free agent who has a growing reputation for his on-ball defense. Unlike how most rumors come from league insiders, this one comes from Beverley himself.
"I hear from (Mavericks forward) Chandler (Parsons) every day," Beverley said about free agency, according to the Houston Chronicle. "It's hard, but I try not to think about it. I can't talk about contracts. It's going to be a fun summer. I have put myself in a position to be set for life and that's something that I never thought was possible growing up."
Beverley and Parsons were teammates for two seasons before Parsons left for Dallas as a restricted free agent. Beverley, though, didn't sound ready to jump ship in the offseason and indicated the ball was in Houston's court.
"This is the only team in the league - I am very loyal - only team in the league that really took a chance on me," said Beverley, whom the Rockets have a $2.7 million qualifying offer on. "At the end of the day, I understand it's a business."
The Mavericks have only $28 million in guaranteed contracts on the books for next season, giving them the opportunity to pursue a player like Beverley and a bigger-name player like DeAndre Jordan, who will command a max-level salary.
Dallas and Jordan reportedly have a mutual interest in each other, with one report claiming Jordan was "extremely interested" in the Mavericks. Jordan appears more likely to Los Angeles because of a reported rift with Chris Paul and his supposed frustration with his role on the team.
LaMarcus Aldridge is another potential max-contract free agent linked to Dallas.
If the Mavericks' free agency plans fall through as they so often have, the team reportedly would then go after a trade for Lawson. Both sides are said to be interested in each other, with Lawson posting on Instagram that he wished he could be playing for the Mavericks. For Denver's part, it hasn't ruled out trading Lawson, whom the Nuggets purportedly wanted two first-round picks for in February.
"There's a lot of ways to skin the cat. But one of them is through free agency, one of them is through the draft and the other one is through trades," Nuggets president Josh Kroenke recently told the Denver Post. "We're going to try to improve our roster until we truly have that core of guys who can compete for something for a lengthy period of time."
How willing Denver is to field offers for Lawson likely depends on whether Kroenke decides to blow up the team in the offseason. If he were to decide to have the team undergo a rebuild, moving Lawson would be a given: Lawson would net Denver a handsome return, and the 27-year-old guard reportedly doesn't want to be part of a rebuild anyways.
Dallas' best asset to offer is its No. 21 pick of the upcoming NBA draft.
Other players, although not explicitly linked to the Mavericks, expected to become free agents this summer include Marc Gasol, Goran Dragic, Omer Asik and restricted free agents Khris Middleton, Brandon Knight and Reggie Jackson.
