The Dallas Mavericks are not interested in signing Jaylen Nowell, according to NBA insider Marc Stein. Nowell is an unrestricted free agent. He played for the Minnesota Timberwolves last season.
“I know there were some recent reports that Jaylen Nowell from Minnesota is a potential target,” Stein said on his podcast. “I was actually told the Mavericks are not really in that race at this point. So to this point, I would scratch Nowell as a target for the Mavericks, at least that was that’s what I was told yesterday.”
Nowell appeared in 65 games for the Timberwolves last season. He averaged 10.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 44.8% from the field, 28.9% from beyond the arc and 77.8% from the free-throw line.
The 24-year-old Nowell has career averages of 9.1 points, 2.2 boards and 1.9 assists in 184 games with the Timberwolves. He was the 43rd overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Washington.
The Mavericks are focused on upgrading the center position. They have already told Christian Wood they won’t bring him back. Wood, who is an unrestricted free agent, appeared in 67 games for the Mavericks last season. He averaged 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 51.5% from the floor, 37.6% from 3 and 77.2% from the free-throw line.
Dallas wants to acquire Clint Capela from the Atlanta Hawks. The Mavericks’ front office re-signed Kyrie Irving and Dwight Powell, signed Seth Curry and Dante Exum and acquired Grant Williams from the Boston Celtics in a sign-and-trade deal this offseason.
The Mavericks won only 38 games last season. They didn’t even qualify for the play-in tournament after making the Western Conference Finals in 2022. Dallas was only 5-11 in games Luka Doncic and Irving played together. That was the worst winning percentage (.313) for a pair of teammates who were both All-Stars since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976-77, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
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