Dallas Mavericks
Much like the Philadelphia 76ers, the Dallas Mavericks are a team that could be a potential destination for Eric Bledsoe should he be bought out of his contract, but they could also look to trade for him should the Grizzlies not buy him out. The Mavericks are looking to add talent around Luke Doncic this offseason and adding Bledsoe to their backcourt definitely does so.
He may not be the best scorer on the court, nor the best defender, but you know what you are getting with a guy like Bledsoe, which is more than can be said about half of the Mavericks’ roster from this past season. Adding Bledsoe also takes pressure off of Doncic to always have the ball in his hands, which is advantageous to the Mavericks in terms of fatigue late in games.
The Mavericks are interested in making some trades this offseason and they could look to center these discussions around both Josh Richardson and Dwight Powell. Richardson has an $11.6M player option that he is likely to opt into and Powell is under contract for two more seasons at $11.08M each year.
Moving on from these contracts is something the Mavericks could be interested in doing, even though they would take on more money for next season by trading just one of these guys for Bledsoe. If they were to move both though, the Mavs would actually free up $4.5M in cap space, money that they could use to re-sign Tim Hardaway Jr. and sign Luka Doncic to a long-term, max-extension.
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Whether or not the Grizzlies would be wanting to acquire Josh Richardson and Dwight Powell is another discussion, but they could have use for either one of these players. Their contracts are not favorable, which is why Memphis wants to move Eric Bledsoe in the first place, but the Grizzlies could have use for both Richardson and Powell if they are looking to make the most of the 2021-22 season.
The Mavericks are a much more plausible option for Bledsoe should the Grizzlies buy him out of his contract when this trade goes through on August 6, but they do have the equal contracts to be able to trade for him. They are definitely a team to keep an eye on in rumors in regards to adding Eric Bledsoe from the Grizzlies this NBA offseason.