Trading Harrison Barnes and his $25 million dollar contract next season allows the Dallas Mavericks a chance to be major players in free agency this summer. Orlando Magic All-Star Nikola Vucevic—an impending free agent—could be a target of Mark Cuban's team.
The Dallas Mavericks were anything but shy leading up to the trade deadline. Giving up Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, and two first round picks—in a time when first rounders seem to be coveted around the league more than ever— was a big price to pay even for a player the caliber of Kristaps Porzingis.
The message from exuberant owner Mark Cuban has been sent: the Mavericks are here to win and win now. Behind them are the tanking days of recent years, the goal is to build around Doncic and Porzingis and compete in the playoffs.
One trade that did not get as much press as the Porzingis deal was the Mavericks trade with the Sacramento Kings to unload Harrison Barnes' contract. The Mavericks are now heading into free agency this summer with around $28 million in cap space.
When asked about free agency plans, GM Donnie Nelson said, “We like stars. We like stars, and lots of them.” That is an admirable position from Nelson, one that I'm sure Cuban shares, but looking at the list of players that qualify as “stars” doesn't reveal a lot of realistic options for Dallas.
Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, and Klay Thompson are the biggest available names out there—not so available for Dallas, however. Tobias Harris most likely isn't leaving Philly, the Milwaukee Bucks aren't letting Khris Middleton walk, and pairing Kristaps Porzingis' injury history with Demarcus Cousins' seems like a bad plan. Kemba Walker is rumored to want to stay in Charlotte and, even if he is tempted to leave, it's not likely going to be for Dallas.
That really leaves one guy: Nikola Vucevic. The Mavericks have already been rumored to have interest in the Montenegrin center, according to SportsDay DFW's Brad Townsend. The team has an existing relationship with Vucevic's agent Bill Duffy who also represents Doncic. The interest from Vucevic's perspective is clear. He'd get to join a better team, market, and coach.
He also dropped this quote a couple of weeks ago about potentially playing with a certain Mavericks legend in the upcoming All-Star Game “That would be awesome. I’d love to be with Dirk on the same team. He’s a guy I looked up to so much, a guy who was an idol to me for so long. That would be great. I’m excited.”
While Dallas seems to be excited about Vucevic and Vucevic very well could be excited about Dallas too, it is important to look at what the on-court fit looks like. The easiest way to do this is to examine both the positives and negatives of a potential Doncic-Porzingis-Vucevic European Union.
Positives
Protecting Porzingis
It's no secret that Kristaps Porzingis has a bit of an injury history. One way to help keep him on the court is to get a center next to him who can take the responsibility of defending centers in the low-post. Porzingis still does not have the body to handle the banging in the paint that he would have to face on a night-to-night basis as a center. This can take a toll on your body over time and can lead to injury and fatigue.
Vucevic is a big dude. His 7-foot 260-lb frame can handle the DeMarcus Cousins and Joel Embiids of the world. Porzingis can then save his energy for shot-blocking and scoring on offense. Vucevic also acts as a nice insurance policy if Porzingis does get hurt. He can step in and be the secondary scorer Doncic needs to continue to get wins in a competitive Western Conference.
Rebounding
The Mavericks are currently short on elite rebounders. Porzingis has struggled with rebounding a bit throughout his short career. Reserve bigs Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber have provided excellent energy for Dallas this year but both can struggle to rebound when matched up against some of the NBA's behemoths.
Enter Vucevic. Vooch is tied for 9th in the league in rebounding averaging 12.1 RPG. Vucevic would transform their team rebounding from a weakness to a potential strength.
Playmaking and Offensive Spacing
Another thing the Mavericks are currently deprived of is secondary playmakers. Luka Doncic is already one of the most creative and effective players with the ball in his hands. Outside of Doncic, the Mavs don't have a lot of guys who can consistently create scoring opportunities for others.
Nikola Vucevic is an excellent passer for a center. He averages just under four assists per game and ranks 5th among centers in assists. Adding a guy like Vucevic could help take some of the passing load off of Doncic, young guard Jalen Brunson, and veterans Devin Harris and JJ Barea (if they decide to play another season).
Vucevic is also shooting 38% from deep on three 3-point attempts a game. Playing Vucevic with Porzingis or Kleber allows the Mavericks to play a true 5-out lineup where everybody on the floor can shoot. Add in Vooch's low-post scoring prowess—something the Mavs roster is currently lacking—and Vucevic could take the Mavericks offense to the next level.
Negatives
Pace
The game is undoubtedly speeding up. As the small-ball revolution continues, not many teams can afford to start two traditional bigs together. Although Porzingis is not necessarily traditional, pairing him with Vucevic would lead to the Mavericks having one of the slower starting lineups in the league.
Luka Doncic thrives in tradition and likes to push the ball off of rebounds. Sharing the floor with Porzingis and Vucevic might slow him down some and hurt the team's transition game. Small-ball teams might be able to force one of the two off of the court because they are too slow to matchup, especially in the playoffs.
Pick-and-Roll Defense
A great advantage of playing smaller lineups is the switch-ability it lends your team's defense. NBA offenses are constantly probing for mismatches and one way they do this is by running a lot of on- and off-ball screens.
Vucevic and Porzingis will both struggle to guard players on the perimeter once they inevitably are forced to switch on defense from time-to-time. Again, come playoff time these issues will only be accentuated when opposing coaches have time to create specific gameplans to target a bigger, slower Mavericks defense.
Roster Flexibility
Vucevic is going to want to get paid. Even if Dallas could talk him into a slight discount, they are still not going to have much money left over to sign other free agents. This will hurt their bench depth. Also, it locks the team into a set core for as long as Vucevic is under contract.
Role players are cheaper and typically easier to trade. If the Mavericks find they have buyers remorse with Vucevic or if a better star becomes available on the trade market, the Nikola Vucevic contract will make it more difficult to trade for such a player. The team would be betting on these three to be good enough to make real noise in the playoffs for the next three or four years. A bet like that is rather risky.
Closing Thoughts
It truly is an exciting time for Mavericks fans. The team has not had this much promise and optimism surrounding it since the they won their last and only championship in 2011.
As I outlined in this article, signing Nikola Vucevic could have some very beneficial effects but could also turn out to be a foolish move by team management. Of course, Vucevic and the Orlando Magic might mutually decide that they want to continue their partnership for years to come. Regardless, Donnie Nelson and Mark Cuban will have some very tough decisions to make this summer and the biggest one could very well be whether to pursue Vucevic or to look elsewhere.
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