Mavs Pursued Kyle Lowry in Free Agency Last Year; Should Dallas Trade with Miami for Him Now?
Fifteen months ago, the Dallas Mavericks pursued veteran point guard Kyle Lowry in free agency in an attempt to pair him with Luka Doncic. Lowry ultimately picked the Miami Heat over the Mavs, but it wasn't because Dallas wasn't willing to give him big money – the deciding factor was his relationship with Jimmy Butler, and the Mavs came in second in the Lowry sweepstakes.
Fast forward to the present day, and a lot has changed since then. Jalen Brunson had a breakout 2021-22 season for the Mavs before ultimately leaving in 2022 free agency, Dallas traded Kristaps Porzingis for even more ballhandler help in the form of Spencer Dinwiddie, and that crew made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals.
With Brunson gone, the Mavs are still a dangerous team, as they hold 5-3 record through eight games into the new season. All three losses could've easily been wins had Doncic had a more fortunate bounce on his game-winning shot attempts. The addition of Christian Wood, who is firmly in the running for the league's Sixth Man of the Year award, has provided a spark the Mavs needed from their frontcourt.
Despite all that's changed, though, Dallas finds itself in a familiar position yet again ... it needs another ballhandler to help lessen the workload of Doncic, who is putting up historic numbers, but with a career-high usage percentage of 37.9.
The addition of Doncic's friend and former Real Madrid teammate Facu Campazzo was a cute gesture, but it doesn't get the Mavs closer to title contention – and the Mavs' front office knows this, as evidenced by Campazzo's contract being non-guaranteed.
Given the Mavs' specific roster need, paired with the fact that the Heat have started off their 2022-23 campaign poorly, could Dallas potentially pursue Lowry via trade a little more than a year later than when they tried to land him in free agency? Like most of these hypotheticals, the answer lies within the answer to the question, "what's the cost?"
Lowry is 36 years old, and he'll be 37 before the regular season ends. He's making $28.3 million this season and has $29.7 million waiting for him in the 2023-24 season. Through 10 games, Lowry is averaging 13.2 points, 5.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds, but he's shooting just 37.8 percent from the field, including 32.3 percent from deep. If the Heat, and Lowry, continue to be underwhelming, they could potentially decide to part ways. Here's a trade between the Mavs and Heat that makes sense for both sides:
Mavs receive: Kyle Lowry
Heat receive: Tim Hardaway Jr., Reggie Bullock
Although Lowry (36) is older than Hardaway (30) and Bullock (31), he fits more of a need for Dallas than those two do, especially with the emergence of 21-year-old Josh Green in his third season. Hardaway has natural ties to Miami, and Bullock is the kind of gritty defensive veteran that fits "Heat Culture" perfectly.
This move would, in theory, despite Hardaway and Bullock's early-season struggles, give Miami more shooting. On the Mavs' side, they'd get the veteran point guard they coveted a little more than a year ago while also freeing up more minutes for Green – something coach Jason Kidd recently said he needed to find a way to do given how well Green has been playing.
Lowry isn't the only veteran point guard the Mavs could pursue as the season progresses. We've already discussed the prospect of Dallas pursuing Utah Jazz point guard Mike Conley, and there are a few other intriguing names out there we'll be keeping an eye on, including D'Angelo Russell, Derrick Rose and Monte Morris to name a few.
We are at least a month or so away from NBA trade talk picking up steam, but it never hurts to identify potential matches beforehand based on how teams are performing. Would Dallas be interested in rolling the dice on an aging point guard? They were willing to not too long ago.
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