Getty Nikola Vucevic of the Chicago Bulls, was listed as a potential target of the Dallas Mavericks.
There’s no question that the Dallas Mavericks will look very different next season. Whether that means seeing Kyrie Irving walk away in free agency, or building a new core around him and Luka Dončić, is yet to be determined, but the time for speculation has begun.
When breaking down potential landing spots for pending Chicago Bulls free agents, “Bleacher Report’s” Zach Buckley projected the Mavs to land Nikola Vučević in a sign-and-trade.
He prefaced his prediction with reasoning to why the big man would look to leave the Windy City this summer.
“While Vučević’s numbers never quite matched what he did with the Orlando Magic, he didn’t have the same opportunities he did in the land of Disney,” Buckley wrote. “He was a focal point in Orlando. In Chicago, he played second fiddle to Zach LaVine and later dipped to the third option once DeMar DeRozan arrived. To Vučević’s credit, you won’t find many more productive third options than him. This season, he put up 17.6 points a night on 52/34.9/83.5 shooting while grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing 3.2 assists. The problem is the Bulls weren’t able to capitalize on those numbers. They were 6.9 points better per 100 possessions when he didn’t play. That speaks to two things: his imperfect fit as an offense-first center and Chicago’s struggles overall. Both should have the big man and the Bulls interested in a change, preferably as part of a sign-and-trade that nets the franchise something in return for a player it sacrificed two first-round picks (plus Wendell Carter Jr. and Otto Porter Jr.) to get.”
Of course, Buckley came to the conclusion that the aforementioned sign-and-trade would send Vuc to Dallas.
Mavs’ Nico Harrison Optimistic that Kyrie Irving Will Stay
Realistically, Dallas’ top offseason priority will be to retain Irving, who they dealt for ahead of this season’s trade deadline.
General manager Nico Harrison recently spoke to the media, claiming to be optimistic about bringing the star guard back for another deal.
“I think the things he said along the way about how he feels here, how he feels appreciated, how he feels accepted, and allowed to be himself. I think those are the things he’s said kind of consistently, and that gives me the optimism that he wants to be here,” Harrison explained via the Dallas Mavericks official YouTube channel.
Nico Harrison Plans to Bring Back Jason Kidd as Mavs Coach
Harrison also touched on the future of the team’s leadership. He shared that he plans on keeping head coach Jason Kidd in the role for at least the following season, citing the team’s Western Conference Finals appearance the year prior as reason to believe in Kidd.
“Listen, Jason Kidd’s our coach. If you look at what we did last year no one was like, ‘hey is Jason Kidd the coach?’” Harrison said. “I think J-Kidd is the same coach that brought us to the Western Conference Finals, but when you don’t reach your goals everybody has to be evaluated. I need to be evaluated, Jason Kidd… we have to sit down and say ‘what could we have done better?’”