Report: Mavericks showed interest in three-time All-Star

The Dallas Mavericks nearly added another All-Star to the team on the buyout market.

Feb 5, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons (10) at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks weren't afraid to get their hands dirty at the trade deadline, and they nearly took another step in that direction.

NBA insider Marc Stein is reporting that the Mavs were internally discussing the prospect of signing Ben Simmons after he reached his buyout agreement with the Brooklyn Nets.

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Jan 12, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz center Micah Potter (25) blocks the shot of Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons (10) during the first quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Simmons was nearly a Maverick

"League sources say that Dallas had interest in joining the buyout market bidding for Ben Simmons, who swiftly joined the LA Clippers after negotiating his release from the Brooklyn Nets and held appeal to the Mavericks as a small ball center," Stein writes.

However, the Mavs were in a bit of a pickle financially.

"The Mavericks, though, sit less than $200,000 away from the NBA's first luxury-tax apron … even after Davis waived his trade kicker upon learning that the Lakers were dealing him to Dallas for Dončić," Stein writes.

"With Caleb Martin's trade kicker hiking his salary from $9.2 million to $10.4 million for apron purposes after the Mavericks acquired Martin from Philadelphia, creating sufficient wiggle room to try to beat out the Clippers, Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers for Simmons was not mathematically possible."

Without Simmons, the Mavericks will have to roll with the group that they have, but given the team's injuries at center, they probably wish they had the former No. 1 overall pick on the roster.

READ MORE: Injury status changes for Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson in Mavericks-Heat

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