We have an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap or the NBA draft? Drop us a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com. Here are this week’s inquiries:
Now that Dwyane Wade chose not to come to Denver, do you think the Nuggets will make any moves before the regular season? They have a lot of growth potential. — Brett Duran
The Nuggets are an intriguing team because they still have about $16.5MM in cap space remaining, so there’s great leeway to take on salary in any deal. Denver has a lot of young talent that other teams would be interested in acquiring, along with the Grizzlies’ first-rounder [top five protected] for next season. If Blake Griffin or DeMarcus Cousins becomes available, the Nuggets are in good shape to be competitive bidders. Also, there are still whispers that Kenneth Faried is on the trading block, with the Thunder and Pelicans both interested.
Do the Pacers get a deal done for Rudy Gay? If so, what do they have to give up? — Russell Loyd
The Kings reportedly had trade talks with Indiana last month, but weren’t interested in taking Monta Ellis in return. Gay will make $13MM+ next season, and the only Pacers in that price range besides Ellis are Paul George, who’s not going anywhere, and the recently acquired Thaddeus Young, Al Jefferson and Jeff Teague. A combination of Rodney Stuckey and either C.J. Miles or Lavoy Allen would get close to Gay’s salary, but Sacramento probably wants more in return. However, it’s pretty clear that Gay would like to move on, and if the Kings can’t find a deal before camps open next month, they might change their minds about Ellis.
The Mavericks waste their time going after big-name players every summer. It’s embarrassing to me as a fan. They continue to do this the past few offseasons with poor results. Why don’t they just trade for players who are still talented and they can just absorb their contracts with the cap space that they have? When they won the title in 2011, the team had players they had acquired via trade and they were two deep at every position. This is what Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson need to explore again as well as build up through the draft. — Jeff Powell
As long as Dirk Nowitzki is on the roster, the Mavericks will try to amass as much talent as possible each offseason in hopes of getting him another ring. Dallas has had its recent share of near misses in free agency, but it can’t seem to land the superstar that Cuban desires. Your owner loves the spotlight and the thrill of chasing the best players on the market, so it will be interesting to see if he is able to change his philosophy once Nowitzki retires.