Getty Kyrie Irving #2 of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Dallas Mavericks might have only just added Justin Holiday, but that hasn’t stopped some from wondering what other moves might be coming down the pike.
A week after the trade deadline, there is no shortage of excellent buyout options left on the market. Former All-Stars like Russell Westbrook and John Wall are still figuring out their futures and at least in theory have the potential to contribute somewhere.
But on Wednesday, a new name was added to that list: Kevin Love. Love formed a Big Three with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving on the Cleveland Cavaliers, helping navigate that team to a title in 2016.
But six seasons later, Love’s time in Cleveland is apparently over as he’s likely to be bought out by the Cavaliers.
It didn’t take long for fans to begin questioning whether Love and Irving should be reunited in Dallas, with the base largely split on the idea:
@Mavs_FFL imho, he will be a good pick up. team really need another stretch PF/C. Kieff is there but KLove is a better rebounder and shooter.
@Mavs_FFL Exactly what we need, an even worse defender at the 5!
@Mavs_FFL Love and Wood….we gonna give up 150 points a night
Though Love is a former All-Star and champ, he’s far from the player today. This season, Love is averaging career lows in points (8.5) and minutes (20.0) per game. Nonetheless, he could bring some experience off the bench and inside the locker room, a role he took on in Cleveland.
Mavericks Eyeing Superstar Trade for Lakers Forward?
Kevin Love isn’t the only LeBron James teammate that the Mavericks might have their eyes on.
On the February 15 edition of The Collin Cowherd Podcast, host Collin Cowherd reported that he’s been told that Dallas will “make a run” at Davis this summer.
“I had a scout I trust say the body language by AD (when LeBron James broke the scoring record) wasn’t a coincidence… I had a scout tell me last week that Dallas is going to make a run at him. Anthony Davis believes that he’s lost the trust of LeBron,” he said.
In Davis, the Mavericks would ostensibly land a defensive upgrade over current big man Christian Wood, something Cowherd noted as particularly alluring to Dallas.
“The source told me that Dallas will make a run at him because Kyrie and Luka have huge defensive deficiencies and they don’t trust Christian Wood,” Cowherd added.
Davis is proven capable of playing with superstars á la LeBron James, so adding him to a lineup that features Luka Doncic likely wouldn’t be too much of a headache. Plus, he’s shown that he can play at an All-Star level; prior to suffering a foot injury in December, Davis was averaging 27.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game.
But Davis is also a major injury risk. He’s already missed over 20 games this season and his recent past doesn’t suggest that’s an anomaly.
Mavericks Already Eyeing Major Summer Spend
The news about the Mavericks star-hunting for Davis comes as no surprise given other intel gathered recently.
Back on February 14, Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer predicted that Dallas had their eye on adding a third star to the roster this summer.
“Using a 2029 unprotected first-round pick to land Irving will allow Dallas to move both their 2025 and 2027 first-round picks this summer, after the Mavericks’ 2023 selection finally conveys to New York as part of the 2019 Kristaps Porzingis deal,” Fischer wrote.
The big kicker comes down to how Irving and Doncic play together this season. If things go well, it could be the green light Dallas needs to find a third star.
“If Irving and Doncic manage to form the partnership Doncic and Porzingis never could fully cement, then perhaps the Mavericks will even take those picks and go shopping for an additional co-star for Doncic and Irving. Why stop at two alphas when you can chase a third? That has been the going order of operations for teams in the superstar-stacking business.”