The Dallas Mavericks have seen their 2022 offseason strategy go out the window. After expecting to re-sign Jalen Brunson, the Mavericks were blindsided by the heavy recruitment of Brunson by the New York Knicks that have now tipped the scales in NY's favor. JB is widely expected to sign a 4-year $110 million contract with the Knicks, leaving the Mavericks without any room to replace him.
The Mavericks will have tools like the veteran minimum and the tax-payers mid-level exception to add some roster pieces that can help them maintain their performance from last season.
The Mavs are looking to get a guard to replace Brunson but can't forget about their wing depth. Reggie Bullock and Dorian Finney-Smith played heavy minutes through the playoffs. To shore up their defense, Dallas is attracted to Matisse Thybulle and are expected to make a move to possibly acquire the Australian defensive standout, according to Marc Stein.
"Adding Thybulle could potentially cost the Mavs Dorian Finney-Smith or future draft compensation. At that kind of price point, the Mavs might be better served finding a way to create room in order to offer Golden State Warriors guard/forward Gary Payton II the full mid-level exception," wrote Dalton Trigg of Sports Illustrated for possible packages to bring Thybulle to Dallas.
Thybulle doesn't add anything offensively but is arguably one of the best wing defenders in the entire league. Portland is also interested in the Philly wing and will have more draft compensation to offer as compared to active players on their roster that Philly can use.
The Mavs will hope that Thybulle can be a reliable shooter when he gets open looks from Luka Doncic. Based on what we saw from him in the playoffs that doesn't look likely. It is an odd fit, but the Mavericks have a lot of offensive players on their roster, and Thybulle can be the guy to take the toughest defensive matchup against the great wings in the Western Conference.
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