Mavericks Reportedly Interested in Acquiring Jaylen Nowell

By: Marselis Davis

So far into free agency, the Mavericks have signed quite a few free agents and new players. Thus far, the Mavericks have acquired players such as Seth Curry, Dante Exum, Richaun Holmes, and Grant Williams. So far, it looks as though the Mavericks are not done yet. Reports now indicate that they’re interested in Wolves shooting guard Jaylen Nowell.

Jaylen Nowell

Recently, there have been a handful of speculations and reports that the Mavericks have an interest in acquiring Jaylen Nowell. Nowell is a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who played all four seasons of his career for the Minnesota Timberwolves. This past season, Nowell played 65 games and averaged 10.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. He also had a field goal percentage of 44.8 and a three point percentage of 28.9.

In the 2023 playoffs, the Timberwolves lost to the Denver Nuggets in five games in the First Round. In those five games, Nowell had a rough series with averages of 3.2 points, one rebound, and 0.6 assists on 23.1 field goal percentage. During this offseason, it appears that the Timberwolves and Nowell have mutually agreed to part ways, making him an unrestricted free agent. The Mavericks are among the teams interested in signing him.

What Jaylen Nowell Would Provide

For starters, Nowell would almost surely come off the bench for the Mavericks, just as he did for the Timberwolves. Nowell would mainly serve as a little more scoring off of the bench for the Mavericks. He is not an elite defender, so he would not significantly improve the Maverick’s defense. He also does not provide much size for the Mavericks either as he is only 6-foot-4.

While he would not help the Mavericks a ton in their highest areas of deficiencies, he would serve as an additional scoring option off the bench. Nowell is also not the best floor spacer, as indicated by his 28.9 three point percentage. His addition to the roster may not add much, but it wouldn’t take away much either.

It would also be interesting to see how Nowell would fit in the rotation. Obviously, Luka Donic and Kyrie Irving would be the starting guards for the Mavericks. However, there are a handful of other guards that the Mavericks have, including their newly signed Seth Curry and rising young players such as Jaden Hardy and Josh Green. With the amount of guards that the Mavericks have, along with the likelihood that the Mavericks will prioritize size, Nowell may find himself deep in the rotation.

How Likely is the Trade?

Thus far, it does not appear that the talks to acquire Nowell have significantly ramped up at the current moment. Reportedly, Nowell and his camp are waiting to see where Damian Lillard ends up before making any signings.  

Overall, this potential signing would likely be on hold until further events unfold in the offseason. Until then, the Mavericks will likely try to further negotiations to acquire a quality center such as Clint Capela. But signing someone like Jaylen Nowell would just give them a extra guard option off the bench, which wouldn’t hurt to have.

Stay tuned for more breaking NBA content, including offseason moves, contract updates and more news from every team.

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