Rumors: Mavericks not interested in signing top free agent guard

The Dallas Mavericks still have a roster spot available, and it seems we know what kind of player they'll use that spot on.

After the Portland Trailblazers matched Dallas' offer sheet for Matisse Thybulle, the Mavs have mostly been linked to being interested in wings.

Although they had rumored interest in Malik Beasley before he signed with the Milwaukee Bucks, the Mavs have been linked to three wings in the past few weeks (Kelly Oubre Jr., Derrick Jones Jr., and Rudy Gay).

Another player that Dallas had rumored interest in was shooting guard Jaylen Nowell.

But as of June 30, it seems that the rumors of the Mavs being interested in Nowell have been squashed. NBA Insider Marc Stein was on his weekly radio show "Saturday Stein Line with Marc Stein" and said, "The Mavericks are not really in that race at this point...I would scratch Nowell as a target for the Mavericks."

The Mavs' rumored interest in Nowell never made sense in the first place as they don't need another scoring guard, and Stein squashed the rumor and gave Mavs fans some clarity on Nowell.

Last season for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Nowell averaged 10.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. He is a great scoring guard who comes off the bench, but his shooting struggles and lack of defense did not match up with what Dallas seems to want in a player they sign.

They need someone who can guard multiple positions and has decent size and length. Nowell is more of an offensive spark plug, and Dallas has plenty of those.

If Tim Hardaway Jr. was off the roster, this move could make some sense. But since he hasn't been traded yet, Dallas can't afford to sign someone who can't defend. Their bench unit is filled with score-first guards in Seth Curry, Jaden Hardy, and Hardaway Jr. already, and adding Nowell into the mix would be a puzzling move by the Mavericks.

Nowell will likely get picked up by someone as he could potentially be a solid bench piece for a contender, but the Mavericks' needs don't match up with Nowell's skillset.

We'll have you covered with all the rumors surrounding the Dallas Mavericks and free agency this summer, so stay tuned.