Should Mavs Cut JaVale McGee, Sign Usman Garuba?

Usman Garuba was traded from the Houston Rockets to the Oklahoma City Thunder this summer. OKC has now cut Garuba, so should the Dallas Mavericks cut JaVale McGee to make a run at him?

Dalton Trigg | Aug 21, 2023

In this story:

Dallas Mavericks

Although the Dallas Mavericks don’t have any open roster spots after recently signing Derrick Jones Jr. to a one-year deal, room could still be made if the team ends up making a trade or simply waiving a player like JaVale McGee — something that has been reported as being a real possibility — in the near future.

On Monday, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reported that the Oklahoma City Thunder waived Usman Garuba, who has spent the last two seasons with the Houston Rockets. The 6-8 forward didn’t put up big numbers last season, as he only averaged 3.0 points and 4.1 rebounds in 75 games, but he had career-high efficiency, shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from deep in 12.9 minutes per game.

The 21-year-old Spaniard is also a decent defender with a 7-2 wingspan, and if the Mavs can’t find a taker for McGee on the trade market, it might make some sense to go ahead and waive him in order to take a flier on Garuba. Mavs GM Nico Harrison has done a good job making roster moves on the margins this offseason, and a move of this nature would fit in with what Dallas has already been able to do.

Garuba clearly took this recent transaction to heart and now has a chip on his shoulder, as he tweeted, “I’ll prove everyone wrong. Mark my words,” earlier today.

Of course, the Mavs would love to make a slightly splashier move, like trading for Atlanta Hawks big man Clint Capela, for example, but there’s no guarantee that such an opportunity will arise. In the meantime, Dallas has another chance to marginally improve its roster.

Follow Dalton Trigg on Twitter. SUBSCRIBE to Mavs Step Back on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Dallas Mavericks? Click Here. Follow DallasBasketball.com on Twitter and Facebook.

Published Aug 21, 2023

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.