Dallas Mavericks: The chances of getting a Warriors free agent

The Dallas Mavericks have money to spend this summer, but what are the chances it is enough to pull one of the big names from the league, in particular, one of the Golden State Warriors?

There has been a lot to love about the NBA Playoffs this year. From surprise winners to great games to the 50-point beatdown Damian Lillard put on the Oklahoma City Thunder, we have seen some great moments. Those of us who are Dallas Mavericks fans have been watching with other motives as well, though.

The NBA could be turned upside-down this summer with a bunch of big names becoming free agents. Many of those guys are currently or did play in the playoffs this year and they will have some very interesting questions to answer.

One of the teams that will really have to figure everything out after it’s all said and done is the Golden State Warriors. The defending NBA Champions came in this year with a starting lineup full of former and current NBA All-Stars. Although DeMarcus Cousins was injured, everyone knew he would be back before the end of the season.

Despite adding to their collection of stars this summer, the Warriors somehow found a way to cause some questions about their readiness for the playoffs once the season ended. A first round bout for the ages between the Warriors and the Clippers caused even more questions as LA took them to a 6-game series with no stars on the team.

This should be worrisome for the Warriors because they are not only clearly not the same team we saw last year, but they are also expected to have a new look next year. The team will be tasked with figuring out how best to approach Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Boogie Cousins in free agency.

The easiest question for them is definitely Boogie. As great as he is, he’s now going to be coming off an even bigger injury and one that is pretty scary for a guy his size. If he wants anything more than a small deal, the Warriors are likely not going to be in play for him.

After that, you have the ever-confusing Kevin Durant. KD has been the best player for the Warriors all season and especially in the playoffs, perhaps even being the best player in the playoffs overall thus far. Despite that, Golden State continues to struggle, going six deep in round one and then a close nail-biter in game one against the Rockets.

KD is considered the most likely to leave for greener pastures from the Warriors. He has seemed a bit disinterested with the team lately and the rumors of him moving on are all over the place. The Warriors would love to keep him around, obviously, but things aren’t looking great currently and would look even worse if they got bounced before winning another title.

Lastly, the Warriors have Klay Thompson as an unrestricted free agent. Klay has been an area of consistency for the Warriors for the past 8 years, playing his role perfectly the whole time including 5 consecutive All-Star appearances. Klay has also made it clear that he would like to return to Golden State, although minds change as time goes on.

Once again, I think the results of the Warriors playoff run could play an interesting role for the team next year.

So, do the Dallas Mavericks have an actual shot at landing one of Boogie Cousins, Kevin Durant or Klay Thompson? I think there may be an opportunity, but I doubt that any of them actually end up in Dallas next year.

The answer is simple: DeMarcus Cousins would have a real shot of signing with the Mavs if there is mutual interest. I don’t believe there will be, but crazier things have happened. KD seems destined for New York still, but either way I doubt Dallas is anywhere near the top of his list. Klay will stay in Golden State unless KD stays too. Then the Lakers become the favorite.

Even though the Mavs chances at one of the big fish are low, the summer is still going to be an exciting time for both the team and these free agents.

If Dallas does sneak into the conversation for either Klay or KD, things next year would get interesting real quick. Dallas has there eyes on some big fish, but only time will tell who they will have a real shot at.