Sports

Free Agent Targets: The Mavs Are Going Fishing (Again)

June 29, 2016 / 11:11 AM CDT / CBS Texas

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DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - For the sixth straight off-season, Mark Cuban's Mavericks will attempt to reel in a big fish (or two).

105.3 The Fan's Mike Fisher reports that the Mavericks have secured a meeting with both Hassan Whiteside and Mike Conley when free agency begins July 1st. While Dallas is courting those two, they are risking the chance that Chandler Parsons gets a max contract offer from another team.

Let's take a look at those players and others that might be on the Mavs radar this coming off-season:

Mike Conley: Conley is the best point guard on the free agent market, and it's not really that close (yes, Rondo is available, but we all know that's not happening). While Conley was expected to have several suitors (he will still have some), recent transactions have certainly limited his possible destinations. The Knicks just traded for Derrick Rose, so they're out. The Spurs were thought to be in contention for Conley's services, but their interest in him is overstated, according to ESPN's Marc Stein. San Antonio never made much sense to me anyways, because Tony Parker is already in the fold and they would have to do a lot of shuffling to be able to afford him.

In a three-team trade on draft night, Indiana got Jeff Teague, Utah got George Hill and the Atlanta Hawks promoted Dennis Schroder to the starting lineup. The Nets are led by Conley's former head coach in Memphis, Lionel Hollins, but they don't have much to offer in talent. What about Chicago, Minnesota? It looks like the Bulls are reassessing their roster, while Minnesota could try and sway Conley to play with their young stars. But then what do they do with Rubio?

Ultimately, I think it comes down to Dallas and Memphis. In the end, Memphis can offer him an extra year and $40 million more than any other team, and I don't see how Conley can turn down a an extra year worth over $30 million as a 33-year-old.

Hassan Whiteside: Whiteside is the perfect compliment to Dirk Nowitzki. He's a pick and roll type center, he can rebound, block shots, etc.

But what does Dallas offer to the big man? Well, they can pay him $90 million over four years just like any other team not named Heat (Miami can offer him a four-year deal worth $94 million). So the money isn't an issue. What about his role on the team? That can be turned into a major positive for the Mavs, and might be why they have a shot at getting a commitment from him.

Dallas can offer Whiteside a role he hasn't ever had. Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra has consistently benched him in the fourth quarter of many games, leading some to wonder how he could possibly want to stay in South Beach.

Another thing Dallas could promise to him is that he won't be coming off the bench behind an Amare Stoudemire type player, just as he did in Miami last season. Although, Rick Carlisle seems to do that from time to time.

What it comes down to for Whiteside and Miami is that Pat Riley has a lot of other fish to fry this off-season. Rumblings have surfaced of of Miami that Riley wanted to fit Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng and Joe Johnson into the fold for less than market value. And that's why you're now seeing reports that Wade is seeking other alternatives because they couldn't come to an agreement.

Basically, Riley wanted to do exactly what Mark Cuban wants Chandler Parsons to do, but it seems Whiteside wants to get paid just as Parsons does, and appears as if he's not the only one trying to get paid in Miami.

I suspect the Mavs pitch will be centered around him being their number one option a la DeAndre Jordan last season. Which, is something he seems to covet when picking his next destination.

Will Miami find a way to make him, Wade and Deng happy? Will Houston, the Lakers, or Portland come in and swipe him? We'll find out soon enough.

Chandler Parsons: My belief this whole time has been that you roll with the 'bird in the hand' mentality. Dallas is going to risk losing Chandler Parsons, just as they did with Tyson Chandler when they chased DeAndre Jordan last season. Dallas doesn't want to pay Parsons max money because of injury concerns. I get that the guy hasn't played in the post-season in his first two years here. However, how do you replace an 18 ppg scorer? Dallas can have the pipe dream of signing Conley and Whiteside, but what happens when those two say no and Parsons is already gone? What do you then say to your free agent star player Dirk Nowitzki?

Parsons conducted a Q&A with fans on twitter early Tuesday morning. When asked if he deserves the max, he responded, "sure do." Those words can't be good for Dallas, but it was probably assumed long ago what his intentions were when he opted not to take $16 million for one more year with the Mavs.

No connection to Dallas as this point:

Dwight Howard: If Dallas strikes out on Whiteside, they should turn their attention to Howard only if they convince Parsons or Conley to come on board. If they can't, I don't see Howard coming here anyways. Dallas will be faced with a rebuild at that point. Atlanta and Boston are known to have interest in the big man, but it's hard to gauge how much he'll command on the open market.

Al Horford: Same goes for Horford, here. Dallas wouldn't mind the power forward, but does that mean Nowitzki comes off the bench? Horford's current team, the Atlanta Hawks, have a better situation to offer him, not to mention teams such as Portland, Detroit, Boston and a bevy of others will come calling July 1st.

Harrison Barnes: Barnes cost himself a lot of money with his performance in the playoffs. However, the small forward would be a nice replacement for a departing Chandler Parsons because he's still just 24-years-old. Would you trust Rick Carlisle to develop him into an even better player? He's already worked wonders with Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder and Al-Farouq Aminu.

Dallas does have Justin Anderson to fill Parsons role if he departs. So if you feel comfortable with that (Dallas seems to be), then you can allocate your resources elsewhere.

Next Level Possibilities:

Evan Fournier (Restricted), Kent Bazemore, Deron Williams, Bismack Biyombo, Jeremy Lin, Evan Turner, Joakim Noah, Ian Mahinmi, Courtney Lee.