Dallas Mavericks reportedly making Khris Middleton and Kemba Walker main targets

The Dallas Mavericks have reportedly narrowed their primary targets this summer to two players. What could these players bring to the team next season if the Mavs were able to land them?

Yesterday evening, it was reported that the Dallas Mavericks have intentions to go after two particular free agents this summer. Those two guys are Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets and Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks. Both players appeared in the All-Star game this year and are considered top level targets.

According to Marc Stein of The New York Times (subscription required), the Mavericks intend to be involved in the free agency discussions with both of these players. He sites league sources in this and follows it with the Mavs likely backup plan of pursuing other two-way wing players to help fill out the roster.

The original question that brought this topic up had to do with Nikola Vucevic, another player the Mavs have been linked to regularly. According to Stein, the Mavs do not have any reported interest in the big man from Montenegro at this time.

It is important to note at this time that it is still really early in the free agency world. Mavs rumors, although fun to follow and good to keep mental tabs on, do not necessarily reflect the whole plan at this time. This is because one, the plan still is far from fully developed from the Mavericks front office, and two, the guys up front for Dallas are notoriously tight-lipped about these things.

That is not to say that Stein’s sources are not accurate at this time. If there is any one person to trust with rumors and sources dealing with the Dallas Mavericks, that man is Marc Stein, but even he has acknowledged that things are subject to change.

The Mavs would be smart to target either of these guys, however. Kemba Walker is a top five free agent this summer and has a lot of potential that could be fulfilled in Dallas. Tyler Watts talked about the things that Kemba could add to the Mavericks just a few weeks ago.

His fit has raised some questions as I mentioned in a previous post, but overall, you just can’t say no to a top 15-20 player in the league. Fit will come together over time, but it is not everyday that an opportunity like that arises.

On the other hand, we have Khris Middleton, who fits a little more seamlessly into the team offensively and defensively. Middleton has been with the Bucks the last 6 years, progressively getting better in each one. He has been a quiet name in free agency in large part because he is expected to be returning to the Bucks on a big deal. The Mavs would have to fork over some serious cash to pry him away from the Bucks.

The Dallas Mavericks will probably have many more rumors coming out over the next couple months, each of which will be reported here on The Smoking Cuban. Stay up to date with us here or on Twitter @TheSmokingCuban.