The Dallas Mavericks will have a busy offseason as they try to remodel a franchise once built around Luka Doncic. The first step will likely be to draft Duke freshman Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick in the draft. Not only is he a versatile forward who can make an immediate defensive impact, his selection will likely be a salve for the Mavs fans aching hearts.
After that, they need to find a stop-gap starting point guard, with Kyrie Irving projected to be out until at least next January. In that effort, Dallas is rumored to be looking at three guards in particular, per The Stein Line insider Marc Stein:
“League sources say Dallas is expected to at least explore whether there are any feasible trade pathways to Boston’s Jrue Holiday — complicated as that would likely be given the three years and $104 million still left on Holiday’s contract — while also maintaining an interest in a far more reasonable trade target… Lonzo Ball…Another name to monitor for Dallas: Chris Paul…”
Mavs Looking At 3 Guards To Replace Kyrie Irving
To be clear, there’s quite a bit of differentiation between these three.
Boston Celtics champion Jrue Holiday is a combo guard who has played in myriad roles throughout his career, from featured scorer to defensive anchor. Chicago Bulls playmaker Lonzo Ball is a supersized floor general whose length and basketball IQ are his greatest strengths. San Antonio Spurs free agent Chris Paul is the archetypal traditional point guard, albeit one who’s 40 years old. If there’s a through line to be found, it’s that they’re all heady guards with reputations as quality 3-point threats and perimeter defenders.
With that being said, Holiday converted 35.3 percent of his 3s in 2024-25 in what was an injury-riddled season. Ball, who shot 36.6 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from 3 in 2024-25, has played just 35 games over the past three seasons due to a complex knee injury. Paul shot 37.7 percent from 3 in 2024-25 but his perimeter defense is at the mercy of Father Time.
Furthermore, Ball averaged 7.6 points per game in 2024-25. Neither his iso scoring or in-between game are highly regarded. Paul averaged 8.8 points per game, his declining quickness hindering his ability to score off the bounce. Holiday averaged 19.1 points per game from the 2017-18 to 2022-23 season. Yet, he’s averaged 11.8 points per game since then. That’s at least in part due to Boston not needing him to carry a heavy offensive burden. Nevertheless, enough time has passed to wonder whether he can actually get back to his pre-Celtics form.
The Path To Jrue Holiday
Of those options, Holiday is the most sensible on paper. He’s also expected to be available for trade with Boston looking to shed salary.
As Stein alluded to, he has a high price tag. In fact, the two-time NBA champion will make $32.4 million in 2025-26 alone. However, Mavs center Daniel Gafford –who’ll be on an expiring $14.4 million contract in 2025-26 –is a prime trade candidate. So is forward PJ Washington, who’ll be on a $14.2 million expiring contract and will likely be supplanted by Flagg. Adding Dwight Powell’s expiring $4 million contract makes a trade for Holiday viable from a financial viewpoint.
© Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
The post Mavs Looking At 3 Guards To Replace Kyrie Irving appeared first on Last Word On Basketball.