The Dallas Mavericks to be “Active” in Buyout Season

NBA buyout season is here and despite their losing record, the Dallas Mavericks look to be active on the buyout market.

The trade deadline came and went and the Dallas Mavericks came away with a 26-year-old wing and a second round draft pick for the expiring contract of Devin Harris.

The youth movement is in full force in Dallas as they prepare for life after Dirk.

Now that the trade deadline is over, the month of February will be known as “buyout season” for the rest of the league. Teams across the NBA will now look at the their roster to see if there is a situation where buying out a contract would be best for the franchise and the player.

In Dallas, you could see Josh McRoberts and maybe even Nerlens Noel being bought out (Marc Stein reported that Dallas intends to keep him for now).

But would the Mavericks be interested in anyone being bought out?

Typically, the buyout market is pretty defined.

Non-playoff teams look at expiring veterans on their roster that might want to join a contender for the playoffs and would be willing to sacrifice some money to make it happen. We already saw Phoenix buyout Greg Monroe this season for him to join the Boston Celtics.

So typically, a team like the Mavericks might not be interested, but Donnie Nelson, Mavericks General Manager, says they intend to be active in the buyout market.

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"“Yeah…yes, I think they have to fit our quest for youth, athleticism and shooting,” Nelson said when I asked him about their interest in the buyout market. “Yeah I think we will certainly be active. There are a couple of possibilities there.”"

Something worth noting is the Mavericks are still sitting on a ton of cap space with roughly $14 million at their disposal. They are also roughly $4 million under the cap floor.

Technically, Dallas could go spending with some players on the buyout market and have a lot of cash to offer.

Would guys like Joe Johnson or Marco Belinelli interest the Mavs? Probably not. But it seems as if Nelson and the Mavs are monitoring some situations around the league where some potential young pieces could get let go from their current situations.

Would a guy like Shabazz Muhammad be a guy they would “try out” for the rest of the season?

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My guess is Dallas stays quiet in the buyout season and instead looks to claim a guy off waivers to help reach the salary cap floor.