2 teams that should go after former Cavs forward Lamar Stevens

Team No. 2: Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks missed the playoffs last season, and actually missed the Play-In Tournament entirely, too. The main problem with the Mavs’ roster is their defense. Last season, their defensive rating was 24th-best in the league. Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving are both not known to be stellar, even competent defenders, so Dallas needs all the defense it can get to surround their backcourt.

In the offseason, the Mavericks added Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper in the NBA Draft, and both are good defenders in their own right. Furthermore, they added Richaun Holmes in a trade, Grant Williams in a sign-and-trade, and Dante Exum in free agency. All of those players are sturdy defensive players, which definitely will help out Dallas’ defense.

The Mavs’ roster looks to be better defensively than last year, which is a low bar to surpass. At the small forward position, Dallas only has Tim Hardaway Jr. and Josh Green as their only wing players. If Dallas were to sign Stevens, it would definitely give more depth at that position. If Hardaway or Green were to get injured, there would be a backup to play that position, or even start if needed.

Stevens also is a solid pick-and-roll player, mainly as the roller in those scenarios. He has an impressive vertical leap, which makes for a great lob threat. Considering Dončić is a tremendous playmaker, it could give Stevens a lot of lob opportunities in Dallas.

Lamar Stevens is a great player, and definitely deserves another spot in the NBA. He’s only 26 years old, so there’s no reason he should be out of the league already. Even though he is undersized at power forward, he’s still a really impactful player, on and off the court.

Stevens was a quality player for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and there’s reason to believe that he would be super impactful on another NBA team.