Mavericks Needs (Part II): A Look Into The Small-Forward Market

As announced, here's my follow-up to this story. As I've stated there, Mavs could need help at the small-forward position, because right now only Marion is a true SF, although Lamar Odom and Vince Carter could play out of position. I think they acquired a ton of offense this free agency and a ton of defense left with Tyson Chandler, DeShawn Stevenson (although he's yet to sign with a new team) and Corey Brewer (potentially), so it would be nice to add a guy at this position who, besides West who partially should fill this need, is a defense-first type of player and brings some toughness to the court. Here are the available free agents I could come up with:

Click through to see the analysis.

Again, first things first:

• Keith Bogans was waived by the Bulls because they picked up Rip Hamilton. Once he clears waivers, he becomes Available.
• DeShawn Stevenson is sill on the list, because he hasn't signed a new contract yet. @fishsports shared that the Mavs are no longer interested, but that just means Stevenson's demands are too high right now. They would certainly take him back for the minimum. But I think he'll be Unavailable sooner or later.
  
• DeJuan Summers is in the Hornets training camp with an unguaranteed contract. He could be avalaible later on, but right now he is Unavailable.
• Al Thornton has been linked to the Nuggets, but nothing happened. Available.
• Peja Stojakovic doesn't fit the scouting report. Plus, if the Mavs wanted, they could have easily brought him back. I think he isn't needed any longer with Carter and Odom around. Unavailable.
• Julian Wright, Jawad Williams, Quinton Ross, Jamario Moon should be Available.

Combine numbers and infos and we got a list:

1. Julian Wright. Found this piece about him that contained a few quotes I like:
   

   "In 312 total minutes played over just 24 appearances, Wright has brought a style of play that hasn’t been seen in Toronto for the better part of a decade. Here’s a swing-man whose first priority is defence, who always seems to be active on the defensive end, grabbing rebounds, forcing turnovers, blocking shots, etc."

   He tops the list in FG% (take Marion out for a second), assists, steals, fewest fouls and WP48. Above-the-average shot-blocker and rebounder at his position, but also turnover-prone and he doesn't have a 3-point shot (Stevenson did). His defensive +/- while playing for Toronto is amazing. He seemed to be the only guy caring about that end of the floor last year and you have to give him credit for that. He is listed at 6-8 and 225 lbs., Stevenson at 6-5 and 210.
   Downside: Discipline and Bill Simmons says he not worth overpaying, because he'll let you down. That's bad, because I respect that guys opinion A LOT. On the other hand: Is a minimum contract overpaying?
2. Jamario Moon. Is a nice all-around player. Competes on defense, can handle the ball, rarely turns it over, shoot the three, is an above-the-average rebounder, tops our list in blocks, will get a steal and an assists here and there and doesn't foul a lot. He's not a classic lockdown defender, but defensive +/- suggests he helped the Clippers at that regard last year. More a Brewer than a Stevenson, but for the minimum? Pretty good value in my eyes.
   
3. Al Thornton. Behind Peja he's the the most capable scorer on that list.Tops the list in FTA, is an above-the-average rebounder, gets an assist and steal here and there, but rarely blocks a shot and fouls too much. Here's a pretty good report on his defensive capabilities. Oh yeah, and he's also on Bill Simmons list of guys that will let you down. Still...
4. Keith Bogans. He is a teamplayer, a tough defense-first guy who can shoot the three. He got kicked out of Chicago because he was not a scorer. In Dallas everybody would be happy to see him being a teamplayer, a tough defense-first guy who can also shoot the three. And he would not need to care about scoring at all. That's called a win-win situation! His advanced metrics look really good overall, defensive +/- is a bit shaky, but the Bulls were the best defensive team last season and they held opponents to 1.03 PPP with him on the floor, which is still A-. And he can play the position, he did it with the Spurs two seasons ago.
5. Quinton Ross. Remember him? He was on the Mavericks roster in 09/10 but soon included in the package that landed Caron Butler, DeShawn Stevenson and Brendan Haywood from Washington. If you haven't been around that year, check this article. He was acquired as a defensive stopper, basically making him Stevenson's predecessor. I remember the Mavs being very impressed by his numbers. Listed at 190 lbs. he is lighter than Stevenson and he is a below-the-average guy in almost every category, can't shoot the three, but posted an amazing defensive +/- again last season. I think he'll be worth the shot if the Mavs still see what they saw in him back in 2009.

So that's your list. Again: Don't hesitate to report any free agents I left out and could potentially match the scouting report.

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