Ever since the Utah Jazz were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks and speculation began to run rampant that the team could break up the All-Star duo of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, Dallas has been widely observed as a potential trade suitor for Gobert.
On Friday, the day after the Mavericks were eliminated from the Western Conference finals, however, a lot of talk centered around the idea that Dallas may look for more role players to build around superstar Luka Doncic rather than add another All-Star.
Then in the afternoon, Substack’s Marc Stein reported specifically that, according to league sources, “the Mavericks are unlikely to initiate an all-out trade pursuit of Utah’s Rudy Gobert.”
The Mavericks, contrary to long-held speculation, are unlikely to initiate an all-out trade pursuit of Utah's Rudy Gobert, league sources say.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 27, 2022
My look at what's next for Dallas after its first taste of playoff success since 2011: https://t.co/I78FBEmjbl
Somewhat contrary to the talk earlier in the day, Stein reported that the Mavericks could target Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine.
“Despite long-running speculation that the Mavericks hope to trade for Rudy Gobert, I’m told that an all-out pursuit of Utah’s All-Star center and defensive anchor is unlikely,” Stein wrote, adding that while Dallas wants to improve its rim protection, “Dallas sees LaVine as the sort of player who could fill other crucial needs with his ability to both play off Dončić as a long-range shooter and likewise collapse defenses by slashing to the basket to score.”
Also, Stein reported that the Mavericks’ “oft-reported interest in Gobert is somewhat overstated because of Gobert’s offensive limitations and the offensive success they just had in the playoffs with a 5-out style that left the paint uncluttered.”
Stein also reported that Dallas will look to do all it can this summer to bring back free-agent guard Jalen Brunson.