Dallas Mavericks: Should Lauri Markkanen be an offseason answer?
Would acquiring Lauri Markkanen help salvage the offseason for the Dallas Mavericks?
Overall, especially considering the team’s high hopes, the Dallas Mavericks have been one of the most underwhelming teams of the offseason. The Mavs failed to add a point guard (they were interested in Kyle Lowry) and didn’t land any of the other big-name free agents (such as DeMar DeRozan or Kawhi Leonard).
Among the bigger moves that the Mavs did make, they re-signed Tim Hardaway Jr. and added Reggie Bullock. Still, after a year in which their season ended after another first-round playoff loss, the Mavs still have a chance to improve the roster ahead of the start of the new campaign.
According to a recent report, the Mavs are interesting in Lauri Markkanen.
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Markkanen is an interesting potential fit with the team and would certainly bring some energy back into a build that feels otherwise somewhat stuck. After the Mavs failed to land a big-name free agent this summer, it brought about more questions about the future of the Mavs than perhaps the team wanted.
And with the expectation that Luka Doncic will sign a supermax extension soon, it’ll be important for Dallas to prove to their franchise player that they’re willing to do what’s necessary to surround him with enough talent to compete in the difficult Western Conference.
Even though the Mavs have taken steps to prove that already, this team still hasn’t managed to find a true No. 2 that both fits properly next to Luka and one that is productive enough to elevate this team to another level.
Can the Dallas Mavericks find the right No. 2 to place next to Luka Doncic?
For as talented as Kristaps Porzingis is, he simply hasn’t been that player for the Mavs. And it’s no surprise that the Mavs could be looking to pivot away from that duo while looking at a player that probably would work as a replacement more than a complement to Kristaps.
Maybe the plan would be for Markkanen and Kristaps to both fit next to Luka, but I’m not sure if I perfectly see that vision. Either way, Markkanen, at least on paper, would be a good fit with Luka.
He is a good shooter, would see his ceiling expand by playing next to a player as talented as Luka, and is still young enough where he’d make a lot of sense in the long-term picture for this team.
Markkanen is coming off a season in which he averaged 14 points and five rebounds on 48 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent shooting from 3-point range. You’d have to imagine that those numbers would only improve next to Luka and that the 24-year-old could see his best season to date in Dallas.
The Mavs haven’t hit big this offseason, but acquiring Markkanen in a sign-and-trade would quantify as a big, splashy move for the team. One that could help this team take the next step as a franchise.