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If you've been following the Mavericks closely, this is just confirmation. Dallas will meet with both Mike Conley and Hassan Whiteside on Friday, July 1, the first day of free agency, and they will offer both of them max contracts.
Dallas reportedly has the first meeting with Whiteside, and they'll offer him a four-year deal worth $98.8 million. Conley, who is still favored to return to Memphis, will also meet with the Mavericks on the opening day, and the max Dallas can offer him is a four-year deal worth $113.6 million. That's a $22.2 million starting salary for Whiteside and $26.6 million for Conley.
"Absolutely, no questions asked. The financial negotiations with the Mavericks will take all of one second. Max. One second max for the max," Tim MacMahon said on 103.3 FM ESPN on Wednesday. It has been confirmed that Conley is also receiving one, something there was never any question about.
For the two meetings, it's very possible the Mavericks will have to divide forces. If so, Rick Carlisle meeting with Conley is necessary, since Carlisle is the reason that Conley is willing to consider Dallas. Mark Cuban makes sense for the "businessman who plays basketball," as Whiteside calls himself. The Mavericks did this last year with Wesley Matthews and DeAndre Jordan. They clearly have enough front office personnel to make it happen.
Friday will be a wild day full of rumors, and while Whiteside said he wants to make his decision by the end of the day, it seems much more likely that both delay their decision to Saturday at least. Conley could put off his decision even longer. It seems likely that the Kevin Durant decision may fall July 5, so after the initial July 1 busy cycle, there's a good chance free agency picks back up after that.
Like the plan or not, this is the one Dallas has. It seems unlikely that Whiteside and Conley will both work out, but there's certainly a chance the Mavericks can pull off some wizardry to make it happen for both.