The Dallas Mavericks have completed yet another offseason flirtation, this time with JaVale McGee, last of the Nuggets and the Sixers. The word is that the deal is a two-year minimum deal with, for once, a team option rather than a player option. Mavs fans will have learned better than to be comfortable about the details of a deal until it's signed, but McGee would be a very nice signing with the potential to be a bargain.
McGee's talent has always been apparent. In 2012, a 24-year-old McGee was given a four-year, $44 million contract to be part of the Nuggets' emerging core, after averaging roughly 10 points, 8 boards and 2.5 blocks on 55 percent shooting over two seasons with the Wizards and the Nuggets. He's also the man who dunked three basketballs at once in the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest*.
Without question one of the most athletic seven-footers in the game, it's still the case that McGee's on- and off-court failings and what fans have been able to see of his overall approach to the game make the lack of interest in his services this offseason perfectly understandable.
Now, McGee, 27, has played in only 28 games in the last two years, for both good and bad reasons. His numbers are way down, and his impact has been virtually nonexistent. Part of this might be minutes, in that he hasn't averaged more than 18 since 2012, but it's hard to believe that the teams he played with wouldn't have given him the chance if he'd shown he deserved it.
Still, these are the kind of moves a team in the Mavericks' position has to make. When you don't have the room or ability to get impact NBA players, you just have to get as close as possible and getting JaVale's upside on a minimum contract represents a tremendous example of that. He may be absolutely nothing, but better that than a guy with no hope at all.
For the moment, it's safe to assume that JaVale will likely have pretty limited minutes, presuming he makes the 15-man roster. But, on the other hand, this move isn't just about the center position, which is now three deep, it's also about PF where Dirk's backups are, as a whole, entirely uninspiring. One more big man is no bad thing, and if anyone can get the best out of Javale, the Mavs' first-rate trainers and first-rate coaching staff are well-positioned to try.
*He also dunked two basketballs, on two hoops, in the same jump at the 2011 dunk contest... Yet, somehow, he didn't win.
