Free Agents the Mavericks Should Definitely Not Pursue

The Dallas Mavericks are constantly in search of some sort of piece to complete the team. The draft will be important, but free agency will play a big part. Here are a few names the Mavs should forget about in that search.

Everyone knows the Dallas Mavericks are great at chasing the big names of NBA free agency. Sadly, after all that running around, the Mavs have never actually caught any of these big players. It has never been for a lack of trying, but it certainly hasn’t paid off for Dallas. This is why the team has announced that they will not be chasing the big names in free agency.

Well, shortly after that news came out, the Mavs made it known that they are very interested in Jrue Holiday, one of the top point guards in free agency. This would stand against what Dallas has said recently, but would definitely hold up to the norm of Mavs free agency and the thought process of Mark Cuban.

I personally do not expect the Mavericks to actually sit back and watch free agency from the sidelines. We have too active of a front office and more than enough to offer as a team and a city, so it’s hard to believe the team will allow free agents to walk without at least making an offer for some big names.

Yet each year, without fail, the Mavericks end up being caught up on some free agent’s line, trying to get their team to give a little more money, or gauge the interest league-wide. None of them stick with Dallas, but they all sure like to get our hopes up season after season. This offseason won’t be that way, supposedly, but here is a short list of players that the Mavs need to erase from existence to make that process a little easier.

Blake Griffin

Listen, there are going to be those who believe that Blake Griffin will be a worthy player to chase during free agency. Don’t listen to them. This would be an awesome addition for the Mavericks who would make Griffin the heir apparent to Dirk Nowitzki for the team. Although he is unable to fully fill those shoes, he would be a big leap on both offense and defense for the Mavs from last year.

However, the idea of coaxing Blake Griffin to Dallas is not just unlikely, it’s not going to happen.

Dallas would jump on this deal in a heartbeat, and the team probably realizes that the Los Angeles Clippers could very well be moving on from the ambiguous power forward from Oklahoma. But, that does not mean that a high profile player like Griffin will be at all interested in coming to Dallas. There are pros such as great mentoring from Dirk and Rick Carlisle, but that won’t be enough.

More than likely, the premier dunker from “lob city” will either stay in LA or move closer to home with the Oklahoma City Thunder. These seem like the most likely destinations for Griffin and Dallas is not going to change his mind there, no matter how hard the team pushes.

Just forget him now.

Kyle Lowry

Lowry is a more interesting player with a tougher decision than that of Griffin. His time in Toronto has showed everyone the player he is capable of being, but has also been a roller coaster of emotions. The Raptors have spent the last few years overachieving in the regular season but underachieving in the playoffs. This was especially noticeable this year as they were swept by the Cavs.

These difficult times have caused Kyle Lowry to consider moving to another team, a tough decision to make, but one that could benefit his career in a big way. That does not mean the Mavericks need to be making a call to find out his availability though.

Lowry will be a big name free agent with many suitors this summer and the Mavs are not going to be very high on his list. He may be a little interested, but just enough to hear the other offers out there. I think Dallas is better off forgetting his name and moving down the list a little further.

Gordon Hayward

Hayward seems like a quiet name due to his quiet nature and the success the Utah Jazz had this season, but there will be teams with interest that he will wait and listen to offers from. I don’t expect to see Hayward leave the Jazz, but I do expect him to hear offers from other teams and make the best decision for himself.

The Jazz are going to throw max money at him, just like a number of other teams, and the Mavs may want to jump in on talks with him as well. I do not believe this is a good decision and I feel like the Mavericks are better off letting him go a anywhere else.

I really would kill to see someone like Gordon Hayward in a Dallas Mavericks uniform, but it is too unlikely of a scenario for me to be on the positive side of courting him this summer. There are a lot of good players out there that the Mavs could have a possibility of adding. Hayward is not one of them.

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No matter what actually happens in free agency, I hope that Mark Cuban realizes that these three players are a no-go and to not even make the call. It may not happen that way, but I think that it should.