The Dallas Mavericks could be taking a page from the book of their in-state rivals, the San Antonio Spurs.
Veteran point guard Chris Paul is “a name to monitor” for the Dallas Mavericks this offseason, veteran NBA writer Marc Stein [reported to Substack on Monday](https://marcstein.substack.com/p/monday-best-all-the-latest-nba-free). Paul, who turned 40 earlier this month, is set to become a free agent after already spending this season in Texas with the Spurs.
Stein also notes that the Mavericks have some interest in fellow guards Jrue Holiday and Lonzo Ball too. However, those pathways would be much more complicated since both Holiday and Ball are both still under contract, thereby requiring Dallas to potentially swing a trade.
Paul, a 12-time NBA All-Star who just completed his 20th career season, is actually still a very productive per-minute player. For the Spurs this year, Paul averaged 8.8 points and 7.3 assists in a modest 28.0 minutes per game. Even more remarkable was that Paul appeared (and started) in all 82 games, marking a career first for him.
As for the Mavericks, they hold the No. 1 overall pick in next month’s NBA Draft and are a virtual lock to select ex-Duke star forward Cooper Flagg. They also will be without star guard Kyrie Irving (ACL tear) for perhaps all of next season, creating the need for a bridge option at the position.
Paul is not as strong defensively these days, especially compared to Holiday and Ball. But with Anthony Davis as Dallas’ defensive anchor and Flagg having some strong defensive chops himself, it could be more important for the Mavericks to bring in a true veteran floor general. That is exactly the profile that Paul fits. He already mentored Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio this season and could now be doing the same thing in Dallas with Flagg ([though Paul has had some negative history in the past with the Mavericks](https://larrybrownsports.com/basketball/chris-paul-family-confrontation-mavericks-fans/596500)).