NBA News Roundup, Wednesday, May 1st: Dallas Mavericks targeting All-Star duo, Gregg Popovich to extend Spurs stay and more
The 2019 NBA Playoffs are currently the talk of the basketball world, although there is no shortage of other stories emerging from around the league.
Teams are preparing for the upcoming NBA draft, and a number of the league's leading stars are also about to hit free agency in the coming weeks. So, with plenty going on around the league, here are all the news and rumors you need to know for May 1st.
The Mavericks have major offseason plans
The Dallas Mavericks finished the 18/19 season with an underwhelming 33-49 record, however, the franchise believes that the pairing of Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic can help them to compete next year.
Dallas' prospects could even further improve, as Marc Stein of The New York Times is reporting that the Mavericks will look to add Kemba Walker and Khris Middleton during free-agency,
There has been no indication to date that the Mavericks will get a sniff from the Kevin Durant/Kawhi Leonard/Kyrie Irving tier of free agents. I likewise continue to believe that Golden State’s Klay Thompson is 100 percent staying put with the Warriors and will not consider external suitors.
But league sources say that the Mavericks intend to fling themselves into the chase for Khris Middleton and/or Kemba Walker with gusto in hopes that they have a shot at one of them. Wings with two-way ability figure to be another emphasis if Dallas is unsuccessful in pursuit of the big names.
Both Walker and Middleton were named as All-Star's thanks to their efforts during the regular season. Walker averaged 25.6 points, 5.9 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game; while Middleton put up 18.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per contest.