With the February trade deadline rapidly approaching, the rumor mill has been working overtime around the NBA. The Pacers are reportedly considering moving Paul George if they can’t get him help; the Cavs are allegedly trying to swap Iman Shumpert for Patrick Beverley; and Isaiah Thomas continues to set the internet ablaze by simply tweeting out ambiguous yet possibly portentous emojis.
Now, it appears the Dallas Mavericks have joined the fray, according to head coach Rick Carlisle.
Carlisle says Deron Williams & Andrew Bogut were held out of practice. "With the trade deadline tomorrow, you can read a lot into that."
— Earl K. Sneed (@EarlKSneed) February 22, 2017
After LeBron James demanded that Cavs management be more aggressive in pursuing a point guard and/or play-maker, Williams’ name was immediately among those mentioned as a potentially good fit in Cleveland. However, there haven’t been any recent murmurs linking him to the organization.
The Mavs got off to a dreadful start to the season but have come on strong in recent months. Still, they’re hovering around the 12th spot in the Western Conference standings and are three games out of the playoff picture.
With Dirk nearing the end of his career and the prospect of contending for a championship well out of reach, Dallas might do well to make a few transactions and start to set themselves up for the future. Aging players like Williams and Bogut simply do not factor into that strategy.
