The Dallas Mavericks had been searching all offseason for the addition of another ball-handler and playmaker to take some pressure off of last season’s Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic. Now, it appears that they might have found their guy, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Delon Wright has agreed to a three-year, $29 million deal with the Mavericks.
Guard Delon Wright is signing a three-year, $29M deal to play for Mavs, agent Greg Lawrence tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 7, 2019
The 6-5 guard had spent all three of his NBA seasons with the Raptors until he was traded to the Grizzlies in 2018-19 as part of a deal centering around Marc Gasol. Although Wright was a reserve for Toronto, his move to Memphis thrust him into the spotlight.
Wright, 27, averaged just 6.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game with the Raptors in 18.3 minutes per contest. But that shot up to 12.2 points and 5.4 rebounds while tallying 30.8 minutes per game with the Grizzlies. He recorded career single-game highs in points (26), rebounds (13), assists (14) and notched his first triple-double during his 26 games with Memphis.
Dallas’ backcourt will center around 2019 Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic, but the Mavericks have also gathered some complimentary pieces to support him. They signed Seth Curry to a four-year deal in free agency this offseason and acquired Tim Hardaway Jr. from the Knicks before February’s trade deadline.
While Dallas did lose top target Kemba Walker to the Celtics, it still has Kristaps Porzingis in its back pocket.
The Mavericks ranked 14th in the Western Conference in 2018-19 – finishing with a 33-49 record. But it appears to be making moves to keep up in a constantly improving field.