Victor Wembanyama is proving he cannot be stopped easily on either end of the floor. In Game 3 of the NBA Finals, the 7-foot-4 Spurs center scored 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three blocks, and two steals to snap the New York Knicks 13-game postseason winning streak.
This follows a Western Conference Finals series where he averaged 27.3 points and 10.9 rebounds over seven games against a physical Oklahoma City Thunder defense.
The defending champions literally threw everything at Wemby, including Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jaylin Williams but none had enough size to neutralize the 22-year-old.
While the Thunder won three games in that series, they couldn't close it out. It served as a reminder that elite-length defensive bigs are highly valuable and it is going to trend sooner than later that every team will look for a 7-foot-4 or 7-foot-3 big man to stop players like Wemby.
The Dallas Mavericks don't have one, however. Injury history and size limitations with Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford have left the Mavs exposed against exactly the type of player dominating these Finals. That's where this hypothetical gets interesting.
According to NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, the Mavericks had early talks with Michigan Wolverines coach Dusty May to fill the vacancy left by Jason Kidd.
If May takes the job, it aligns with Dallas's draft options. His 7-foot-3 center, Aday Mara, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year who averaged 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks, is widely projected to go eighth to the Atlanta Hawks. Since Dallas holds the No. 9 pick, moving up just one spot would land them Mara to match up against players like Wembanyama.
"He takes a lot of pride in protecting the rim," May told analyst Kevin O'Connor recently about Mara. "He has as big of an upside as anyone in the portal."
None of this is official because May remains committed to Michigan and Dallas is still looking for a coach. This scenario is only possible if May joins the Mavs and successfully moves up to get Mara.
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