The Dallas Mavericks had a rough NBA offseason this year. In fact, there are a lot of people that believe that they had the worst offseason of any team in the league and it is hard to argue against their reasoning for it.
They entered the offseason with a clear plan of upgrading their center position, which they accomplished. Christian Wood was acquired from the Houston Rockets in a trade before the 2022 NBA Draft and they doubled down by signing JaVale McGee to become their starter.
However, the amount of money that they gave to McGee was part of the reasoning for them being picked as having the worst offseason in the NBA. However, the biggest knock against the Mavericks was losing Jalen Brunson in free agency.
Brunson signed a four-year, $104 million deal with the New York Knicks, leaving a huge hole in the Mavericks’ rotation. To make matters worse, Dallas wasn’t even able to work out a sign-and-trade deal to at least create a trade exception. That means they lost their second-best player from a Western Conference Finals participating team for nothing.
While that was a miss, the Mavericks do have a chance to make a deal with New York and acquire a piece that could help them out. Cam Reddish has reportedly requested a trade from the Knicks as he is looking for a larger role on a team.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Dallas Mavericks & New York Knicks Updates
The Mavericks could present him with that opportunity while being legitimate playoff contenders. One NBA scout that spoke to NBA Analysis Network believes Dallas would be a great fit for the Duke product.
“Reddish has shown he can knock down catch-and-shoot looks at a high clip. That tends to be maximized playing next to Luka Doncic. The Mavs could use a wing that can do a bit more off the bounce than Finney-Smith and Bullock. Dallas needed that third wing for depth in the playoffs, and I can see Reddish being that. I could see Jason Kidd connecting well with him and getting the most out of him.”
Reddish possesses prototypical two-way wing size, standing at a legitimate 6’8”. He can play some minutes as a stretch-4 as well, which fits the mold of what the Mavericks are looking for as they play a five-out alignment with Luka Doncic leading the way.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Dallas Mavericks & New York Knicks Updates
Surrounding him with as many shooters and defenders as possible is likely the best strategy for Jason Kidd to deploy. Recreating some of what the Houston Rockets did with James Harden under Mike D’Antoni is what the Mavericks can do with Doncic under Kidd.
While another ball-handler is certainly needed, adding that kind of depth on the wing will also be a huge help. NBA teams can never have enough 3-and-D wing types on the roster and Cam Reddish would certainly bolster the Mavericks in that regard.
