With the salary cap in the NBA next season lower than expected, the Dallas Mavericks might find themselves having a lot of trouble keeping impending free agent Andrew Bogut next summer.
When Kevin Durant shocked the NBA by announcing that he was going to be leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency, the Golden State Warriors knew that they needed to make some moves in order to clear up enough salary cap space to make the signing possible.
The Warriors had to allow their former starting small forward, Harrison Barnes, to leave via free agency. He decided to sign with the Mavericks for the maximum contract.
Still needing some salary cap space, Golden State decided to move Bogut, according to FanSided. They found a willing taker in Dallas, a team that has desperately been trying to fill their starting center position since they were shunned by DeAndre Jordan in free agency last summer.
Those within the Mavericks organization were ecstatic about acquiring Bogut. The 6-foot-11 center seems like an excellent fit with Dirk Nowitzki, their franchise player. Nowitzki can now focus solely on offense because Bogut is one of the best defensive big men in the entire NBA.
Bogut becomes a free agent next summer, so Dallas was hoping that he would stick around, as Nowitzki has mentioned that he would be willing to continue his NBA career beyond this season.
With the salary cap lower than what was initially expected, NBA teams might have approximately $6 million less to spend next summer. That is going to make it harder for the Mavericks to keep all of their impending free agents.
Deron Williams signed a one year contract to stay with Dallas. Without a young replacement in the wing, the Mavericks might be forced to keep Williams around. He might cut into the salary cap, so it would make it harder for management to sign Bogut, especially if he has a really good season.
If another NBA team ends up offering Bogut a lot of money next summer, then the Mavericks might end up with a big void at the center position.