The Dallas Mavericks appear to have hit the jackpot with last season’s trade deadline acquisition of Kyrie Irving. Now, the Mavericks reportedly will look to roll snake eyes once again.
Dallas Mavericks Rumors: Mavs Looking To Solidify Frontcourt According To Mark Cuban, Linked To Kyle Kuzma
Before the season, some pundits were concerned that Irving and Luka Doncic could succeed together. But Irving is a big reason for that.
Doncic and Irving are the second-highest scoring duo — behind Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey — at nearly 59 points a game. The duo is also combining for 5.8 3-pointers, 13.3 rebounds, and 14.6 assists. More importantly, the Mavs outscore their opponents by almost two points a game. The Mavericks are also 15-11 in the games that Irving plays and 3-2 when he plays and Doncic doesn’t. The Mavs are 3-4 in games Doncoc has missed this season.
Dallas sits in sixth place in the Western Conference at 24-18. The Mavericks are a half-game behind fifth-place New Orleans and a half-game ahead of Sacramento. Furthermore, the Mavs are only five games clear of 11th-place Golden State.
Still, Dallas is not a contender without upgrading its roster. Mavericks’ minority owner and head of basketball operations, Mark Cuban, also knows that. Cuban confirmed during a recent radio appearance that the team wants to fortify its frontcourt, per Brad Townsend of the Dallas News.
“If we can get a big who can also create off the dribble, that’d be a plus,” Cuban said. “Six-eight or bigger.”
Mavs Interested In Kyle Kuzma
Not long after the Cuban tidbit was divulged, NBA Insider Marc Stein reported that the Mavericks were interested in Washington Wizards combo forward Kyle Kuzma.
Kuzma is the prototypical big that Cuban is looking for. The 28-year-old loves to get to the basket off the bounce and has a plethora of finishes around the basket. Forty-eight percent of Kuzma’s shots have come within 10 feet of the basket this year, and he is making 57.8% of those attempts, although that number is almost 74% in attempts within three feet.
While Kuzma is at his best off one or two dribbles, he is okay when taking three or more dribbles, connecting on 43.7% of those shots. However, he is a below-average ball-handler.
Kuzma is having a career year this season as he is the focal point of the Wizards offense, producing 21.2 points and 4.2 assists. He is making 2.3 treys and grabbing 6.4 rebounds a game while shooting above his career norms with a slash line at .455/.343/.785.
Kuzma signed a four-year, $90 million extension this summer with the Wizards. The pact includes $12 million worth of incentives and a 15% trade kicker.
According to Stein, the Wizards want a minimum of two first-round picks for Kuzma, and they seem to want higher-value picks than the ones the Raptors received from Indiana for Siakam. Indiana received two first-rounders this year and one in 2026 that is protected.
Stein noted that the Mavs can only trade their 2027 first-round selection due to the Stepien Rule.
Per Fred Katz of The Athletic, Sacramento and Miami are also projected to be strong suitors for Kuzma.
Mavs Interested In Miles Bridges?
Matt Moore of The Action Network has brought up the Charlotte Hornets’ Miles Bridges as a possible target for the Mavs, Kings, and Pistons. However, Moore is the only person reporting this, so not sure how accurate.
Regardless, Bridges is a shot-creator who is a terrific scorer. He is also a fantastic finisher around the rim and a superb defensive rebounder. While the 25-year-old is not as good a shooter or playmaker as Kuzma, he is definitely better defensively.
However, Bridges carries a lot of bagage that it would be hard to fathom another team would be interested in acquiring him. Plus, he is listed at 6-7, an inch shorter than the player the Mavs want.
Bridges will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Yahoo Sports Jake Fischer also said that the Mavericks have shown interest in other versatile forwards, P.J. Washington, Dorian Finney-Smith, Andrew Wiggins, and Jerami Grant. Fischer added that Portland is not interested in trading Grant.
Meanwhile, Katz has Alex Caruso, Daniel Gafford, Royce O’Neale, Andre Drummond, and Delon Wright as possible targets for the Mavericks.
Like Kuzma, obtaining Gafford may be too rich for the Mavs. If they are interested in a defensive-minded guard who doesn’t turn the ball over, Caruso and Wright make sense. Washington doesn’t shoot the ball well and is too similar to Grant Williams, although he is a far superior offensive player and rebounder. Drummond makes a ton of sense, while O’Neale does not as he is identical to the player Williams is.