The Dallas Mavericks are having a much better offseason than in recent history. After getting burned by players like Deron Williams and Chris Bosh in years past, the franchise finally got their top targets this season. Dallas inked deals for DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews and Jeremy Evans in free agency which was a success. However, they still need to fill the point guard position after Rajon Rondo headed to Sacramento.
According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Mavericks are showing a lot of interest in point guard Jeremy Lin. The Mavericks do not have a lot of money to spend at this point and will either need Lin to take a steep pay cut or they must escalate a sign-and-trade with the Los Angeles Lakers. They can try to offer their $2.8 million exception. Lin has a strong relationship with Chandler Parsons who is potentially influencing this deal to happen in the near future.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, the Mavericks will try and negotiate a sign-and-trade deal that could send players like Raymond Felton and Devin Harris to Los Angeles in exchange for the point guard. The Lakers are trying to dump cap space at the moment as well and may or may not like the idea of taking on additional contracts.
The Mavericks need a point guard. The team could try and re-sign JJ Barea to a veteran's minimum deal or they could attempt to negotiate a trade with another team. Eric Bledsoe, Ty Lawson and Brandon Jennings are likely off limits to the Mavericks considering their cap space issue. Jose Calderon could be an option. According to the New York Post, the Knicks will still be open to a deal for Calderson who would likely not mind a return trip to Dallas after a failed year in New York.
Getting Lin signed likely will not be difficult. Interest in the point guard has been quiet. The Mavericks offer him the chance to be a starter, but have enough offensive firepower that the pressure to be the constant scorer is not as large as it was in Los Angeles. The smaller market will help with media pressure as well. As long as the point guard agrees to a smaller contract, heading to Dallas should be easy.
