5 Most likely Dallas Mavericks to be traded away during 2023 offseason

2. JaVale McGee

The Mavs signed McGee in free agency last summer to be their starting center. They surprisingly gave the 34-year-old a three-year deal worth $17.2 million, despite Dallas being his ninth different team in his 15-year NBA career. McGee had familiarity with the Mavericks and head coach Jason Kidd, so what could go wrong?

The answer was everything. It quickly became clear that things were not working out, and the veteran lasted seven games in the starting lineup before being benched. He was removed from the rotation entirely as Dwight Powell returned to the opening group. The Mavs signed McGee to solve their rebounding and rim protection woes, and those were back with Powell starting again.

McGee has two years and $11.7 million left on his contract, and the Mavericks will certainly be shopping him this summer. They have seven soon-to-be free agents from last season’s roster, so it could be an offseason of change in Dallas. They need to make massive upgrades, and JaVale McGee was not even part of the team’s rotation for most of last season.

Can the Dallas Mavericks find someone willing to take the seven-footer? He will likely be included in a deal with the tenth overall pick in the 2023 draft if he is dealt out of town. That allows Dallas to move on and still get a quality rotation piece in return.