The Dallas Mavericks opened up the offseason being one of the more busy teams on draft night by making two trades for two rookies in Dereck Lively II and Omax Prosper, acquiring veteran big man Richaun Holmes, and opening up cap flexibility for this summer.
As Mavs GM Nico Harrison stated in his exit interview following the end of the regular season, Dallas' focus was to improve both their defense and rebounding this summer while hoping to re-sign Kyrie Irving.
Reported on Monday's episode of Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective, ESPN's Tim MacMahon hit the pause button on Dallas potentially targeting Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams.
"He has actually been linked to the Mavericks," MacMahon said. "Me poking around about that, not definitively but I was kind of told 'calm it down a little bit.'"
Williams, like Nuggets free agent Bruce Brown, has been speculated to be a potential target for the Mavericks, especially now that Dallas has opened up the full Mid-Level Exception of $12.4 million following the trade of Davis Bertans on draft night.
For the Celtics, acquiring former Maverick Kristaps Porzingis, while also drafting defensive-minded wing Jordan Walsh out of Arkansas, it seems like Williams' time in Boston may have come to an end. But, if Williams signs an offer sheet to the MLE or less, Boston could be tempted to match and figure out their roster and/or rotation later on.
And though Williams shares an agent with Luka Doncic, and also wears his signature shoe, it could just be that the Mavericks have targets higher on their list, like Brown. Williams surely fits the mold of the kind of versatile defensive target that Dallas is seeking to add around Doncic, but it might be tricky for to the restricted free agent tag.
Whether it's Williams, Brown, or another well-rounded target, Dallas has a game plan ready to improve their roster this offseason. We should be in for an exiting free-agency period.
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