Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Mavericks appear ready to transform their roster into a championship caliber team this offseason. With Dirk Nowitzki taking a pay cut in order to add some star power, the Mavericks should enter the new season with much more talent.
One of their own free-agents-to-be that absolutely must be re-signed going forward is power forward Elton Brand. In just over 20 minutes per game last year, Brand gave Dallas 7.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and an assist.
Owner Mark Cuban won’t take this past season lightly. He’s a winner and he always has been. With a veteran like Brand hitting the market, Cuban has to do what he can to bring him back. If possible, it would be excellent for the team if Brand would come back at around $2 million reflecting what he made last year.
Hopefully, for Dallas’ sake, he doesn’t get any other attractive offers elsewhere which could be very likely.
Brand can still contribute at a high level and is all-around efficient at what he does on both ends. Giving the Mavericks over a block per game is huge for the team, especially when they could use all the defensive help they can get. He is still one of the better bench players in terms of rebounding as well.
Going into this next year with both Nowitzki and Brand, two savvy veterans, would give Dallas a huge advantage especially if they were to lure the likes of either Dwight Howard or Chris Paul – or both – to the big D. Imagine the possibilities for the Mavericks next year if they somehow were able to work out a roster including those four names – endless.
Ryan Heckman is a Senior NBA writer for www.RantSports.com also contributing to the NFL. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.
