3 Potential Dallas Mavericks free agent targets with ties to Luka Doncic

As the NBA Playoffs roar on, some teams are already staring into the abyss of the offseason. Unfortunately, the Dallas Mavericks are one of those teams.

Despite having Luka Doncic at the helm and trading for Kyrie Irving at this year’s deadline, they failed to even qualify for the Play-In Tournament, missing out on the postseason entirely.

Doncic is a perennial MVP candidate, Irving is an All-Star caliber point guard, and yet the Mavericks just couldn’t put it all together. Injuries certainly got in the way, but as a whole, there was simply a failure to execute down the stretch.

As the summer begins and the offseason drags on, the Mavericks will have some important choices to make. Whether or not to re-sign Irving is the biggest, but there are plenty of others to examine, too.

3 Potential free agent targets with ties to Luka Doncic

It seems more than likely that Dallas will get involved in the trade market, and the NBA Draft will be a big night for them, too, but free agency will be just as important.

If they choose to let Irving walk, or he decides to leave and sign elsewhere, then they will have cap space to work with. But even if they bring him back, they should still have some room to play with in free agency.

Obviously, their defense needs some serious work, so players that could help on that end should be a priority, but what else will the Mavericks look for?

Well, if they want to keep their star player happy, then maybe that’s where they could start.

Here are three potential free agent targets with ties to Doncic.

3. Josh Richardson

As mentioned, the Mavericks’ biggest need will be on the defensive end, but the players they add in that regard should also be able to provide some sort of value on offense, too.

Josh Richardson is a perfect example of that.

Richardson is a former teammate of Luka Doncic, as he was a member of the Dallas Mavericks for the 2020-21 season. They swapped Seth Curry for Richardson, and it never ended up paying off as they wanted it to.

The idea was for Richardson to be a better presence on the defensive end, and while that worked out, his shooting trailed off when in Dallas.

Since then, Richardson has refound his 3-point shot, shooting 41.5 percent from deep in 2021-22 and 36.5 percent from distance this past season. Adding him back into the mix would, in theory, give the Mavericks a boost on both ends.

Again, that was the idea when the Mavericks brought Richardson on board last time around, but with the current makeup of their team, it couldn’t hurt to give the experiment a second chance.

If Richardson can bring league-average 3-point shooting to Dallas alongside his defensive presence on the perimeter and underrated ball-handling skills, he would be a great fit alongside Doncic and Irving.

2. Wesley Matthews

At this point in his career, Wesley Matthews isn’t a starting-caliber player anymore. However, that doesn’t mean he couldn’t help the Dallas Mavericks in a limited role.

He and Luka Doncic have a very brief connection, but it’s still there. Matthews was on the Mavericks for three-and-a-half seasons from 2015 to the 2018-19 season when he was traded to the New York Knicks in the deal that landed Kristaps Porzingis in Dallas.

In the 2018-19 season, Matthews played 44 games in Dallas, meaning he only appeared in half a season with Doncic. However, while he played alongside Doncic, Matthews looked great.

At the time, he was 32 years old, and now, he’ll be heading into his 37-year-old season, so there has obviously been some decline. That being said, he could still make an impact in Dallas.

Defensively, he’s still sharp. For the last two seasons, the Milwaukee Bucks have utilized Matthews as a defensive presence to employ on guys like Jayson Tatum and DeMar DeRozan.

Even this deep into his career, Matthews is still more than comfortable taking on high-profile defensive matchups, and that’s the sort of guy Dallas could use alongside Doncic.

Plus, while his 3-point shot isn’t nearly as consistent as it once was, he can still provide some floor-spacing on the offensive end.

1. Seth Curry

Heading into the summer, the Dallas Mavericks should place a huge emphasis on the defensive side of the ball, but that doesn’t mean they can’t look to improve their offense, too.

Bringing Seth Curry back into the fold would give the Mavericks an elite 3-point shooter to help take pressure off of both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

Curry was a member of the Mavericks multiple times, but he was only teammates with Doncic during the 2019-20 season before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers the following offseason.

In addition, Curry has also been teammates with Irving, as they were both members of the Brooklyn Nets for the past couple of years. His connections mean he’d likely be very familiar with playing alongside both superstars.

Since leaving Dallas, Curry has proven his worth as one of the greatest 3-point shooters in the league today. This past season in Brooklyn, Curry shot 40.5 percent from distance on 3.8 attempts per game, and that marked his worst season in terms of efficiency since he entered the league.

Adding Seth Curry to the lineup would give the Dallas Mavericks (arguably) the most dependable 3-point shooter in the NBA and one of the most efficient shooters in league history. That’s a luxury that could be put to great use.