2 Pros, 2 cons of Dallas Mavericks targeting Chris Paul in free agency

Con #2: Waste of money

If and when the Dallas Mavericks re-sign Kyrie Irving, which it seems like they are planning to do, they won’t have a ton of cap space heading into the summer. In turn, their mid-level exception (MLE) will be a very useful commodity in filling out their roster.

It seems unlikely that Chris Paul will want to accept a minimum contract if he hits free agency this summer, meaning Dallas would have to use their MLE on Paul.

With Luka Doncic and Irving leading the way, the Mavericks will need to invest a ton of effort into filling out the roster and improving the team’s depth. Using their MLE on Paul would be a waste.

As noted, Paul is already a questionable fit on the Mavericks, who already have two star point guards leading the way, so using one of their most valuable assets to bring in a third point guard would be a waste of money.

Instead, the Mavericks should be looking to use their MLE for a big man, as they don’t have any starting-caliber centers on the roster, or a defensive-minded guy who could improve their play on that side of the ball.

Signing Paul this summer for what would likely be the MLE would be a bad way for Dallas to utilize their available assets.