While the NBA trade deadline might have passed, free agency will soon become the next discussion as a handful of marquee players will be on the market at the end of the NBA year. Brandon Jennings will be on that list of potential free agents come the end of the season. The Milwaukee Bucks young point guard will have the chance to leave the team come summertime. Jennings told The Dallas Morning News that he sees himself fitting more in with the Dallas Mavericks than Milwaukee for the 2013 season.
"Who wouldn't want to play in an environment like this every night? You've got an owner who's so into his team and everything like that. Every time you see the Mavs, you see Mark Cuban cheering or going crazy. They won a championship. They're about winning," Jennings said.
The Mavericks could be in the market for a new point guard. Current point guard Darren Collison has struggled in his first season with Dallas. Collison is averaging 12.7 points per game along with 5.5 assists in 31.2 minutes per game. His play has lacked much consistency throughout the year. Midseason signee Mike James was brought in as a backup, but he is 37 years old and will not be playing much longer.
Jennings is 23-years old and offers a lot of potential for the Mavericks. With the Bucks, he is averaging 18.9 points and 6.1 assists on the season. Milwaukee is holding on to the eight seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. He has the youth and numbers that Cuban likes. He could be a key piece in executing the pick-and-roll with star Dirk Nowitzki.
Jennings is a former 10th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Bucks. Jennings opted not to attend college and instead played a year of basketball in Italy so he could then enter the draft. Jennings admitted to The Dallas Morning News that he has thought a lot about playing the Dallas next season. Head coach Rick Carlisle spoke in general terms about Jennings.
"He's an aggressive attacker, and he's very difficult to guard because he can both get into the paint and kill you there, and then if you want to go under screens, he can jump up and knock down four or five 3s in a row," Carlisle said.
As an upcoming unrestricted free agent, Jennings will have the option to talk to any teams he wants to, unless the Bucks are able to work out a new contract before the season is over.