In preparation for next season, the Dallas Mavericks are reportedly targeting help at the point guard position during the upcoming offseason.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Mavericks recently obtained the first overall selection in the NBA Draft and the chance to acquire Duke superstar forward Cooper Flagg, meaning the team has few holes left to fill on the remainder of the roster.
NBA Insider Shams Charania of ESPN has now reported that the franchise “will be pursuing a point guard” in the offseason following the torn ACL suffered by Kyrie Irving.
“Whether that’s in the trade market, or in free agency. That’s a big priority for them. Because we know, Kyrie Irving is targeting potentially sometime in January to make his return. So, we’ll see which point guard they can have as a plug-and-play for them,” he added.
Irving is expected to miss a large portion of the 2025-26 regular season, and Dallas will look to find a replacement for the first half of the year.
However, there is a belief within the Mavericks’ organization that Irving can return just before the midway point of the season and be fully healthy by the beginning of the 2025-26 playoffs, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Dallas should have multiple options to fill the void left by Irving’s absence next season, with players expected to be available in both free agency and the trade market.
The Mavericks could pursue potential free agents Fred VanVleet, Chris Paul, Malcolm Brogdon, or Tre Jones.
The difficult part with these players is the various contract options and potential price disagreements, as the Mavericks do not have much space to add players in free agency due to salary cap restrictions.
If Dallas is unable to sign a point guard in free agency, the team will likely pursue a trade to acquire a specific player.
Possible options in the trade market include Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday, Detroit Pistons guard Dennis Schröder, or Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball. All three players are expected to be available in trades and should not be too expensive to acquire.
Dallas also has several different assets that can be used in this trade, including a future first-round draft pick from the Los Angeles Lakers and forwards P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford, who are both candidates to be traded this offseason.
Regardless, Dallas still has time to make these decisions as the NBA Playoffs are currently underway, leaving ample time for the Mavericks to scout rookies and begin discussing potential options at the point guard position.