The Dallas Mavericks could be looking to make an upgrade on their roster after appearing in the NBA Finals this season, losing in five games to the Boston Celtics. As talented as Luka Doncic is, it was clear the surrounding roster wasn’t good enough to compete with Boston.
One player the Mavericks could target is Portland’s Jerami Grant, who just averaged 21 PPG last season while shooting 40.2% from 3-point range. According to Ian Begley, an NBA Insider for SNY, the Mavericks are among several teams that have “checked in” on the 30-year-old.
Some are concerned about Grant’s low rebounding numbers (just 4 RPG for his career) but with a guard like Doncic and two glass-cleaning big men in Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, Grant could fit well in the lineup. His 3-point shooting and proficiency as a potential third scorer would be a welcome addition though.
The bigger concern is Grant’s salary. Portland re-signed him to a 5-year, $180-million deal last offseason thinking they could convince Damian Lillard to stay. Grant will be making $29.7 million this upcoming season, the second year of that contract extension.
If the Mavericks were to make an offer, it would take Tim Hardaway Jr. and Maxi Kleber, plus a salary filler such as A.J. Lawson to match salaries and throw in future draft capital to even start the conversation. They could also offer Josh Green, but the Mavericks likely want to hang on to him for at least one more season.
Making this trade would severely limit the other moves Dallas could make this offseason, which includes bringing back Derrick Jones Jr., who was said to be the Mavs’ highest priority. The new tax aprons make it hard for the expensive teams to make trades and Dallas is flirting with the first tax apron. Trading multiple assets for Grant means they’d have to add other minimum contracts to fill out the roster and raise their luxury tax ever so slightly. Even if the cap is set to jump in a few seasons thanks to the upcoming media deal, it’s something teams will have to figure out for the next few seasons.
