The Dallas Mavericks were active in the opening minutes of NBA free agency on Monday evening. Dallas moved swiftly to retain incumbent shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. on a four-year deal worth more than $70 million, and the Mavericks also retained the services of Boban Marjanovic and Sterling Brown to beef up their overall depth. Then, Dallas was linked to veteran swingman Reggie Bullock, with Marc Stein reporting that the Mavericks and Bullock were close on a deal.
The Mavericks are nearing a deal with Knicks free agent Reggie Bullock, league sources say.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 2, 2021
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon then confirmed a deal was done, and, eventually, Shams Charania came through with the details on the deal — 3 years, $30.5 million.
Wing Reggie Bullock has agreed to a deal with the Mavs, sources said. @TheSteinLine reported they were close.
Bullock is a 39.2% career 3-point shooter. Mavs are loading up on shooters to surround Luka Doncic.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) August 2, 2021
Free agent swingman Reggie Bullock has agreed to a three-year, $30.5 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks, his agent David Bauman of @ISEBasketball tells @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 3, 2021
The 30-year-old Bullock spent the last two seasons with the New York Knicks and enjoyed the best season of his career in 2020-21. Bullock made 64 starts for New York, and he averaged 10.9 points per game while shooting 41 percent from three-point range and contributing to a strong defense. While he is by no means a star, Bullock is the kind of player that any team aiming to contend would be interested in, particularly if he can continue to stay as healthy and productive as he was last season.
For the Mavericks, this is another high-end shooter to pair with Luka Doncic, and Bullock takes very little off the table. He won’t singlehandedly change the team’s fortunes, but it is (very) difficult to stop Dallas when surrounding Doncic with a balanced floor, and Bullock is the exact kind of player who can shine next to a star creator.
