Dallas Mavericks: Three non-star players to target in free agency

With the NBA season nearing, the Dallas Mavericks are searching for their third star…

As of late, rumors have been swirling about the Dallas Mavericks and their interests in stars such as Zach LaVine, Victor Oladipo and flashy guard Jrue Holiday.

There is no doubt about it, all three players have the potential to have an impact on any team they are assigned too. However for the Dallas Mavericks, the answer may be role players who are excellent wing-defenders, players who can shot the three well and a player who can create open shots for Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.

The benefits of a role-player compared to an All-Star

One benefit of signing or trading for a role-player, is it saves Dallas money. If Dallas were to trade for All-Star players like guard DeMar DeRozan or Gordon Hayward, their ceiling price would not only be high now, but it would increase due to their All-Star resume. Currently, Hayward is expected to make a base salary of around $34,000 next year. Whether Dallas were to sign or trade for a player like him, it would eat up a majority of their cap space and limit other players they could sign.

Another benefit one targeting a role-player is increase opportunities for Luka. A third All-Star would transition into less shots for Luka, due to that player wanting more opportunities. Yes this may be hypothetical, but I mean there is a reason these players have earned the titled as “Stars” or “All-Stars.” Luka’s ceiling is still high and the Dallas Mavericks must take advantage of that and allow him to continue flourishing as one of the dominant players in the league. (Yes, this means allowing to shoot as many shots per game)

One final reason, is Dallas has a reputation of flourishing players from “no-names” to role contributing players. You can look at players like Dorian Finney-Smith and Maxi Kleber as examples. In his first season with the Mavs, Kleber averaged 5.4 points per game and 3.3 rebounds in under 17 minutes.

Flash forward to three years later and his numbers by more than 5 points and 3 rebounds. A big reason of his increase production was due to his role as a player and increase in minutes. The team should continue to allow their role players to continue flourishing and allow them to develop.

With Dallas in the hunt for some contributing players, there are plenty of players Dallas could target.

Here are some players the Dallas Mavericks should target:

One player who could contribute and open up the floor for Luka is shooting-guard J.J. Redick. The veteran guard is a player with plenty of playoff experience who is best known for shooting a high three-point percentage. In his 15th NBA season this past year, he still managed to average 15.3 points per game to go with a .453 three-point percentage. Reddick has always expressed his interest in playing for a playoff team and Dallas would be the perfect destination.