Dallas Mavericks: Willie Cauley-Stein to decline player option

Dallas Mavericks: Willie Cauley-Stein to decline player option

The Dallas Mavericks have a ton of important decisions to make this week. The draft takes place on Nov. 18, and the Mavs are reportedly shopping their picks. Free agency kicks off on Friday, but there are two other dominos to fall before that.

Willie Cauley-Stein and Tim Hardaway Jr. both have until Thursday to decide on their player options for next season. ESPN’s Bobby Marks reported both players would opt-in (subscription required), but that may not be the case.

Michael A. Scotto from HoopsHype broke the news that Cauley-Stein is declining his player option for next season. Let us take a closer look at what that means for the Mavs.

Willie Cauley-Stein to decline player option: What does that mean for the Dallas Mavericks?

Cauley-Stein declined just over $2.2 million to return the Mavs next season, which is slightly over the minimum salary. The lowest mark for a player with five years of experience is $1.9 million next season. Trill has interest in returning to the Mavericks but is looking for additional money.

Dallas is tight on cap space. They only have the mid-level exception and minimum-salary deals to hand out if Tim Hardaway Jr. accepts his player option (which is expected).

Cauley-Stein will likely get more money elsewhere. The Mavericks need another big man, especially with the news that Kristaps Porzingis is going to miss the beginning of the season. Dallas is comfortable starting Dwight Powell and have solid backups in Maxi Kleber and Boban Marjanovic, but will likely add another big man this offseason.

The other option would be adding a wing and embracing small ball. Dallas had success playing KP at the five with four floor spacers last season. It will be interesting to see if that is the Mavs preferred option.

Stay tuned to The Smoking Cuban for all the latest on Willie Cauley-Stein’s free agency and analysis on what the Dallas Mavericks are doing this offseason. There promises to be plenty of excitement, so do not miss it.