Who should Mavericks top free agent targets be?

November 8, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward

(12) controls the ball against the defense of Los Angeles Clippers center

(6) during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Mavericks + Mark Cuban + Free Agency = Excitement.

We all know Cuban gets just as excited as all of for the offseason. It’s an opportunity to retool the roster and climb back into championship contention.

While the likes of LeBron James (not yet at least), Chris Bosh, and Carmelo Anthony aren’t headlining this free agent crop, there are plenty of big and good names available.

LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, DeAndre Jordan, and Kawhi Leonard are the stars of the class. There are also plenty of restricted free agent options out there.

We turn to the TSC staff to figure out which player(s) the Mavs should target.

Feb 25, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Danny Green (14) dribbles past Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews (2) at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports

Who should the Mavs target this offseason?

Daniel Devine:  Aside from the one glaring possible name that’s in the rumor mill is pending FA/hometown kid, DeAndre Jordan. Jordan would basically be to Dallas what Tyson Chandler was in 2011. Chandler is still a fine run-protector, but will be entering year 15 and has been battling injuries for what seems like half of that time. Jordan might not be as adept a rim-protector as Doc Rivers and the Clippers PR staff might wish you to believe, but he is still a monster physically and athletically and could be an addition next to Chandler Parsons as a part of Dallas’ youth movement.

The most realistic option (and possibly the priority beyond a DeAndre Jordan or LaMarcus Aldridge jackpot) is to retain Al-Farouq Aminu who became an indispensable part of the rotation during the Playoffs and still has room to grow entering Year-6. He should be someone Dallas prioritizes as they start to build with youth.

Aaron Clements: I’d love to see DeAndre Jordan come to Dallas. DeAndre, a DFW native, would give the Mavs youth, energy, rebounding, and defense–all weak points on the roster. Dallas provides an excellent atmosphere for Jordan to develop his game, and he could easily mold into a superstar form. Maybe he could learn how to make a free throw while he’s at it.

Jason Lee: Adding some youthful exuberance to the team is one of many tasks the Mavs should be looking out for and DeAndre Jordan could be on his way into the town this offseason. But on the other end, doing so will inevitably deal Tyson Chandler out of the city for second time.

Call me for being too much of a meaningless fan that can’t move on from their superhero. Tyson was our unsung hero (the other one was Shawn Marion) in 2011. The world knows Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry who led this team back to get the ring. We all knew what happened next the following year and Mark Cuban repaid his mistake for bringing Tyson back home, where he has won his only ring ever.

Do I want to get rid of him again if I was Cuban? No way. I’d be better off respecting what my current center did this past year to the team than pay $20 million for this one particular big guy who couldn’t even shoot 40% of his freebies in regular season.

In life, I know the desire to WANT something mostly beats the importance of NEEDS. And this is one of the cases. Let me ask you something. Will you ever trade the 36 years old Dirk, knowing that he hurts your team when he’s on the floor, but has done everything to the team, the fans and the city?

Instead of throwing my money on a center, I’d pull my attention on team’s guard concerns. And the guy the Mavs should pursue first is Khris Middleton. That 6’8” length is truly something and he fits the criteria of filling the “youthful exuberance” to the team. So, I’m all in for this guy

Charles Hughes: There has been a tremendous amount of roster turnover pretty much every year since the championship run. Building chemistry and figuring out what works isn’t easy, even for a wizard like Carlisle. With these things in mind, I’d like to see them keep Tyson Chandler as that kind of leadership and fit are hard to find. With the frontcourt largely set in this scenario, the attention naturally shifts to the backcourt.

I’d actually like to see the team get kind of weird with it, shift Monta to point guard and try to take advantage of other teams in tight salary cap situations to pry away a shooting guard in the Wes Matthews/Khris Middleton/Danny Green vein. The crop of available point guards is pretty sparse if you think the chances are slim that Goran Dragic decides to leave Miami, the team he just engineered an escape to last year.

Patrick Beverley could be an intriguing fit, but he’s a restricted free agent, and it could be hard to get a second RFA away from Morey in Houston.  Shooting, size and defense are areas of real need, and any of the Matthews/Middleton/Green trio would meet those needs and fit in well with the current needs, and be at least possible to get in a feasible price range.

Kieran Hairell: Go ahead and say that I’m holding on to the last, little sliver of the Dirk window. I am, and I say go all in. I mean all in on Lamarcus Aldridge. DeAndre Jordan is an elite athlete, but I think if we can re-sign Chandler & lock up Aldridge … Why not?

You’re effectively “replacing” Dirk for the near-term (he could start or come off the bench) and working on the “transition.” It was clear in the playoffs, when Parsons was out, that we had a need for more scoring. Inject a power-forward with a history of being a top 10 NBA scorer. Problem solved. Plus, his house is in on the market in PDX, and, while we have a lot of cap room, we should make it count right? #LMAinDAL

Jay Knodell: I’m all aboard the DeAndre Jordan train. Tyson Chandler is great, but he knows this is his last chance to cash in with a big contract and although it would hurt to see him go, I just don’t feel comfortable giving him big money over 4-5 seasons. Jordan provides most of what Chandler offers – minus the veteran leadership and a free throw percentage north of 70% – and still has room to grow. He would give the Mavericks another young piece to build around in the post-Dirk era, as well.

Rami Michail: LMA would be my first choice. Moving Dirk to the bench isn’t such a bad thing, even though it’s just a strange thought. Also Aldridge could play at center and share the court with Dirk for spurts. After that, whether or not he signs, I think the team should look at smaller names.

I don’t think the team has a shot at Marc Gasol, Kawhi Leonard, or Jimmy Butler sadly. And I’m still not sold on paying DeAndre the max when Tyson could be available for half the price.

Middleton  would be my top target on the wing but tough seeing the Bucks letting him go. Corey Joseph and Patrick Beverley would be good and hopefully cheap options at point guard. Tobias Harris would be a sleeper target if he would accept a reserve role.

I know I listed almost every free agent possible, but the team has plenty of spots it needs to fill.

But in the order of interest I’d go: Aldridge, Middleton, Green, Matthews, Tobias, Beverley, then Joseph.