8 Potential Dallas Mavericks free agent targets with ties to Kyrie Irving

3. Mason Plumlee

The Mavs desperately need to improve their center situation this offseason. It was the team’s biggest weakness in their run to the conference finals in 2022, so Dallas signed JaVale McGee to take over as their starting center last summer. The experience did not work out, and McGee was quickly dropped from the rotation entirely. That put Dwight Powell back starting and left the Mavericks with the same issues.

Plumlee was Duke’s starting center back in 2011 under head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Coach K later took over leading USA basketball, and he had his two former Blue Devils back on the World Cup squad in 2014 as they won the gold medal in Spain. Kyrie was a starter and went on to play in the 2016 Olympics. Plumlee was a reserve big man that was not selected for the Olympic gold medal-winning squad.

Could Kyrie convince his former college teammate to join him in Dallas? Plumlee is an unrestricted free agent this summer after joining the Clippers off the buyout market in February. The 6’11 big man averaged 10.8 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 26.0 minutes per game last season.

Plumlee is not a shot-blocker or rim protector, but he would be a significant upgrade for the Dallas Mavericks at the five. He would solve their rebounding woes and give their offense a dynamic playmaker in the middle. Signing Mason Plumlee is certainly an option the Mavs should explore this summer.