Can the Dallas Mavericks realistically sign Chris Paul after shocking waive news?

The Dallas Mavericks are entering one of the most crucial summers of all time as the team has to make moves to get back to contending for championships.

Dallas went from making the Western Conference Finals in 2022 to missing the playoffs in 2023. Dallas has to figure out how to get back to playing winning basketball and surrounding Luka Doncic with elite talent.

One move Dallas made that didn't necessarily work out is trading for Kyrie Irving. Dallas plummeted in the standings following the trade and lacked depth. Although this trade was for the long-term, according to Irving, it was still a horrendous way to end the season.

Can the Dallas Mavericks realistically sign Chris Paul after shocking waive news?

One way the Mavericks can get back on track is through free agency. Although Dallas won't have much cap space, especially if they re-sign Irving, it seems moving Davis Bertans' or Tim Hardaway Jr.'s contract along with the tenth overall pick is inevitable.

The NBA world has been flooded with big news and Wednesday afternoon was no different.

Chris Haynes of TNT reported that the Phoenix Suns are waiving Chris Paul. This shocked everyone as Paul is a future Hall of Famer, and no signs were pointing to him getting waived.

Now the big question is can the Mavericks realistically sign him?

Even if Dallas signs Kyrie Irving to the max, the answer to this question is still yes.

Paul will be getting $15.7 million from the Suns and is nearing the end of his career. He wants to play for a contender and could be willing to take a veteran's minimum contract since he has money coming in from Phoenix. Dallas would be stupid not to offer him a veteran's minimum and it would make both sides happy as Paul gets to play for a contender while Dallas signs a backup point guard for a bargain.

Dallas could also offer the taxpayer mid-level exception if he doesn't want to play for the veteran's minimum. This would be a generous contract, and Paul would get to play alongside Irving (if he re-signs) and Luka Doncic in Dallas. It may not be how Dallas wants to use their MLE, but having CP3 lead the bench unit is not a bad idea.

Stay tuned for all the news surrounding Paul and if the Mavericks emerge as potential suitors during his free agency.