The Dallas Mavericks made several key roster additions over the summer, and Richaun Holmes was one of those moves that mostly flew under the radar after he was traded to Dallas from the Sacramento Kings on draft night.
After landing with the Mavs, Holmes is excited for his new opportunity for multiple reasons, including playing in front of a fan base that has shown him a lot of love over the years.
“I was excited when I got traded to Dallas,” Holmes said on Media Day. “A lot of Dallas fans have been showing me love on social media for a couple years now.”
Another reason Holmes is excited to be in Dallas is because he’ll finally have a chance to meet Dirk Nowitzki for the first time. Holmes claims that he’s loved the Mavs’ organization ever since he was a kid, and that was mainly due to Nowitzki.
“This has always been a place, an organization that I’ve loved since I was a basketball fan coming up,” Holmes said. “So I think just to actually be here and see this place, see the Dirk statue outside, it’s truly amazing. A full-circle moment. … I’ve never met [Dirk], but I’m very much looking forward to that.”
As far as on-court play goes, Holmes sees his rebounding and pick-and-roll abilities as the biggest strengths he brings to the table. In four seasons with the Kings, Holmes averaged 10.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 64.4 percent from the field. When Sacramento acquired Domantas Sabonis nearly two years ago, Holmes’ role was suppressed, which is what ultimately led to him being traded to Dallas.
“Just playing in the pick-and-roll, that’s been one of my strengths since I got in the league,” Holmes said. “I think in Sacramento, it was a different play-style. With [Sabonis], the things he’s been doing over there, he’s been great for that team. It’s the reason I’ve got to get in the gym and work on turning weaknesses into strengths as well as expanding on my strengths.
“I think playing in the pick-and-roll and rebounding, those are some things I can bring to this team for sure.”
It has yet to be seen where Holmes will be slotted in head coach Jason Kidd’s rotation, but whether he ends up starting or coming off the bench, Mavs owner Mark Cuban believes he could be one of the “most underrated” pickups of the offseason.
“I think Richaun Holmes is going to be the most underrated pickup of the summer," Cuban told Justin Termine and Frank Isola on SiriusXM NBA Radio. "People forget what he could do with Sacramento before he got hurt, and then they get Sabonis and he takes his place.”
According to Kidd, it appears that rookie big man Dereck Lively II will be the Mavs’ starting center to start the preseason. However, that can change before opening night, so we’ll see how Holmes fits in with his new teammates as the month progresses.
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