Getty Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant
With Kristaps Porzingis now in town and paired with rookie phenom Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks are gearing up to move into win-now mode. And it seems the next phase of that process includes targeting a few of the top-tier free agents during the 2019 offseason. And that search will apparently begin with Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant.
But Durant isn’t the only Warriors player who reportedly has the attention of the Mavericks front office. As Mike Fisher of DallasBasketball.com reported, Dallas plans to “start at the top” in free agency by pursuing Durant until he tells them ‘no,’ but also target Klay Thompson as well.
This seems so obvious, but we’ll repeat it: #Mavs in free agency will start at the top, i.e. Kevin Durant, unless and until he tells them ‘no.’ Same w Klay Thompson, etc.
This shouldn’t be considered too surprising, especially since we know Mark Cuban has no issue going after big names and recruiting top talent. But while Durant (for starters) has been linked to the New York Knicks early and often, he’d make an interesting fit with the Mavericks. The same could be said about Thompson, and the addition of either player would immediately bolster the outlook and title chances in Dallas.
Mavericks’ 2019 NBA Free Agency Outlook & Cap Space
Although pegging an exact number for potential salary cap space that a team will have available after the year is tough to do, we at least have a rough estimate. According to Spotrac, the Mavericks are projected to have the fourth-most practical cap space at just north of $52.157 million. They currently sit behind the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Nets.
The Mavericks could have a very real chance to persuade a top free agent to come to town, although there have been rumblings that they’ll sign Porzingis to an extension after this season. Regardless, Dallas has just six other players under contract with guaranteed deals for the 2019-20 season, one of which is a player option for Dwight Powell.
This list includes Doncic, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, Justin Jackson, Jalen Brunson, and Powell. Ryan Broekhoff is on a non-guaranteed contract.
Kristaps Porzingis Extension Called ‘99.99%’ Likely
Whether Porzingis receives a big extension from the Mavericks this offseason or not remains to be seen, but The Ringer’s Bill Simmons offered up a strong outlook on the situation. Shortly after the team’s trade which brought Porzingis to town from the Knicks, Simmons stated there’s a “99.99” percent chance that an extension happens this summer.
FYI: the odds of Porzingis signing a huge extension w/ Dallas this summer are 99.99%
Qualifying offer for 2019-20: 5.7m, one year
Dallas extension: 28m in 2019-20, 125-130m range for 4 years.
So he’d just leave 22+ mill on the table for 2020 w/ his injury history? No way.
Both Porzingis and Cuban made it abundantly clear that the plan is for the two sides to have a long and happy relationship, so there’s no reason to believe the forward’s new deal won’t come soon. And pairing the 23-year-old with a 20-year-old Doncic and another star sounds like the makings of a legitimate championship contender.
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