Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic is one of the top players in the entire NBA, but this Dallas Mavericks team does not have the overall talent to be a championship contender.
Kristaps Porzingis has played well and Tim Hardaway Jr. is a solid catch-and-shoot scorer, but the Mavs have no secondary ball-handlers and just do not have the star-power other teams in the league have.
Adding Kemba Walker may not change the dynamic of this Dallas team too much, but he gives them another facilitator to help take pressure off of Doncic, as well as another scoring weapon to try and help a challenged offensive team.
The Mavericks currently rank 14th in offensive rating and 21st in defensive rating, which is not terrible, but when you watch them play, it is hard to say that they have a chance to win a playoff series. Maybe if Luka Doncic averaged 40-plus points in the playoffs they will have a chance, but other than him, the rest of this roster is highly inconsistent.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Kemba Walker Looks Finished After Poor Start With New York Knicks
While he too has been inconsistent at times this season in New York, Kemba Walker is as close to reliable as the Mavericks are going to get in a trade for another backcourt piece this season.
He is a former All-Star, has actually shot the ball quite well this year and is on a very affordable contract. Not to mention, the Mavericks have a $10.8M TPE that they created when they traded Josh Richardson to the Boston Celtics in the offseason.
Kemba’s contract could be absorbed using this trade exception and Dallas really would not have to give up much right now to acquire him from the Knicks, that is assuming that New York has given up on the former All-Star and does not plan to utilize him again this year.
Earlier in the year, there were talks of the Mavericks possibly pursuing Goran Dragic as a veteran, secondary ball-handler next to Luka Doncic in the backcourt, but they could get Kemba Walker at half the cost financially and they could utilize their exception in the process.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Kemba Walker Looks Finished After Poor Start With New York Knicks
The Mavericks are going to need to add a lot more talent other than Kemba Walker in order to compete for another championship, but this move at least signifies that they are trying to get better and adding Walker could absolutely make the Mavericks a better offense team.
