Mavericks Free Agency: "Plan B" Targets
Ah, now onto the fun part of the Mavericks' offseason. Free agency. We all know Dallas has built their roster primarily through free agency almost every season since Dirk Nowitzki has been the center piece of the franchise. Time after time they've put together competitive rosters, but time after time they've also been spurned by their main targets. Prime Deron Williams back in 2012 when he turned down his hometown Dallas for a return to the Nets. Dwight Howard the next year when he almost went back to LA (yes, he really considered it after that God awful season), then almost came to Dallas, then almost went to his hometown Hawks, then started to get interested in Golden State (could you imagine?), then finally signed with the Houston Rockets. And no one will ever forget last summer when Deandre Jordan agreed to play for the Mavs and become the next face of the franchise, then decided not to answer any phone calls and play out his decision with the maturity of a 12 year old and go back to being the third wheel in LA. Bitter? Who, me? No not at all! This summer, Dallas will find themselves not necessarily prioritizing any one guy until one guy decides to sign. They'll have to approach free agency ready to talk to anyone and everyone that is willing to talk to them. Of course, names like Hassan Whiteside, Mike Conley, and yes, Dwight Howard will find themselves atop Dallas' wish list, but beggars can't be choosers anymore.
After the big names are taken care of, Dallas will turn their attention to filling in the rest of their roster with serviceable role players or making up for the guys they strike out on. A lot of these guys can start, but Dallas would prefer to bring in at least one, hopefully two, max guys to fill in the starting five. So let's take a look at the possible "plan B" type guys.
PG: Jeremy Lin
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2015-16 Statistics: 11.7 PPG, 3.0 AST, 3.2 REB
Analysis: Jeremy Lin really came into the public eye when "Linsanity" was a thing in New York. Carmelo Anthony couldn't share that much of the spotlight at that point so New York moved on from the budding point guard and he moved onto Houston. Well, Houston was expecting the Linsanity to pick up right where it left off and that was a bit unreasonable to expect out of an undrafted point guard. They got production for two seasons and then traded him to the Lakers. Well LA sucked at the time, but Lin continued to be his productive self and then tested free agency. Before being turned down by Deandre Jordan, the Mavericks were closing in on a deal to make Lin their starter for the 2015-16 season; but then Jordan decided to go back to LA and Lin immediately signed a deal with Charlotte. Jeremy Lin is back on the market after a very good season with the Hornets backing up Kemba Walker, who really came into his own this season. The Harvard product opted out of his contract in which he was set to make $2.2 million next season and will likely find himself a very nice upgrade somewhere this summer. He's only 27 and can provide scoring in bunches when needed. He's a very creative scorer and sees the floor extremely well. Lin will have plenty of suitors namely the Nets, Bulls, and surprisingly, the New York Knicks. I was excited when I heard Lin was on his way to Dallas, and I would be very happy to see him finalize that deal this offseason. It will be very easy to overpay Jeremy Lin to pry him away from other teams, but Deron Williams has opted out, Raymond Felton is a free agent, JJ Barea and Devin Harris fill the backup role better than as starters, so Jeremy Lin could make a lot of sense here. Conley is priority number one at the point guard position, but if Lin is the plan B starter, Dallas should be in good hands. Plus, he's got pretty creative hairstyles.
SG: Kent Bazemore
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2015-16 Statistics: 11.6 PPG, 2.3 AST, 5.1 REB
Analysis: Kent Bazemore is going to get paid this summer. There's a very good chance that, with the new projected salary cap rise, Bazemore could make well above what anyone would have ever expected. Bazemore shot 42% from behind the three point line this past year with Atlanta, usually defended the best player on the floor with the departure of DeMarre Carroll, and worked his way into the starting lineup. Not to mention, he'll dunk on just about anyone he wants to. His athleticism helps him finish in traffic and get up to block shots. If the Mavs opt to go small this offseason, Bazemore would step into the starting two slot, Wes would slide to the three, Parsons would be set as the power forward, and Dirk would be the starting center. Small ball is not ideal in the Mavs organization; they've always said a great big is better than a great small. Bazemore isn't much of a ball handler, so forcing him to try to play the starting point guard position just because he's the best guy left on the market would be a mistake. Bazemore would be a plan B if Parsons opts not to resign with the Mavs and/or Dallas strikes out on any kind of starting caliber big man. If Dallas resigns CP and gets their starting center, KB24 (not Kobe, sorry) would be an excellent sixth man, could even potentially be in the running for sixth man of the year from the start of the season, but there's two things to consider when it comes to him playing that role. Would the Mavs be willing to pay a guy that would come off the bench starter type money? And would Kent Bazemore be willing to step into a backup role when he could easily be a starter elsewhere? Oh yeah, he's only 26 years old.
SF: Evan Turner
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2015-16 Statistics: 10.5 PPG, 4.4 AST, 4.9 REB
Analysis: I am a big fan of Evan Turner. Although he was deemed a bust after being the second overall pick by the 76ers and not being able to produce much for that poor team, he has turned into a very serviceable player for a very good playoff team in the Celtics. Turner's main production comes as a solid wing defender. He's not very quick, but his strength and length make life very tough for the perimeter players he's guarding. He's averaged a steal per game each year for the past three seasons, and his overall on ball defense is just terrific. Turner's main production of offense come from the mid range game and bullying his way to the bucket. He shoots an efficient 45% from the field, but only 24% from behind the three point line. He likely won't be paid as much as Kent Bazemore or Jeremy Lin, but he is very fond of Boston and vice versa. Brad Stevens made it known that he wants Turner back on his team next season, and Turner said he's considering taking less money to return to Boston. The wing wouldn't come to Dallas to start unless the unlikely scenario of Parsons leaving becomes a reality. Turner would be a great addition to Rick Carlisle's bench as the defense is lacking when it comes to depth. Turner is only 27, but the Mavs have another young wing that I would like to see get more time on the floor: Justin Anderson. Anderson could play at the backup two more if Turner came to Dallas, but he didn't see a whole lot of time there last season. Turner is a very good option, but I think it would be hard to get him away from Boston without overpaying him.
PF: Ryan Anderson
Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
2015-16 Statistics: 17.0 PPG, 0.9 AST, 6.0 REB
Analysis: Obviously, the Mavericks have their starting power forward spot covered. However, their backup four slot is going to be a lot weaker next season. Parsons often stepped into the backup power forward position and did pretty well, but he's not a power forward. Dwight Powell is a young, restricted free agent that some team may overpay, David Lee is unrestricted and proved that he still has a lot left in the tank, which could lead to a pay raise for him somewhere, Charlie Villanueva likely has one foot in the door of retirement, and now Dirk needs a backup. Well, why not get the poor man's Dirk? Ryan Anderson is the definition of a stretch four, and could provide a lot of scoring off of the bench and add to a pretty weak three point shooting bench as well. Anderson shouldered a much heavier offensive load for the Pelicans when Anthony Davis went down for the season, and he proved that he could handle it. Shooting nearly 37% from behind the three point line and putting up 17 points per game all season long is no fluke. He's not much of a defender in the post, but his 6 boards per game is nothing to overlook. Anderson is only 28 years old, (was I the only one surprised by this?) which could make him another easy candidate to be overpaid this summer with the higher salary cap. It would be very hard to imagine the Mavs ending up with an offseason so bad that Ryan Anderson ends up being a starter next season, but he would be a very good free agent to pick up for the sake of the team's depth.
