Mark Cuban: Mavs' Richaun Holmes Trade 'Most Underrated' Offseason Move

The Dallas Mavericks have reportedly been searching for veteran starting center this offseason, but perhaps they already acquired the guy they needed in Richaun Holmes.

Dalton Trigg | Jul 14, 2023

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Dallas Mavericks

Throughout the NBA offseason, the Dallas Mavericks have been the subject of countless rumors and speculation when it comes to the idea of them trading for a veteran starting center. But what if the player they've been looking for has been on the roster since draft night?

No, we're not talking about Dereck Lively II, who has loads of potential to be Dallas' defensive anchor for the future, but is only 19 years old and admits he hasn't done enough to earn the Mavs' starting center spot. However, another center Dallas acquired on draft night – Richaun Holmes, in a salary-dump trade with the Sacramento Kings – could be the short-term fix. Mavs owner Mark Cuban certainly seems to think so.

“I think Richaun Holmes is going to be the most underrated pickup of the summer," Cuban told Justin Termine and Frank Isola on SiriusXM NBA Radio. "I mean, people forget what he could do with Sacramento before he got hurt, and then they get Sabonis and he takes his place.”

Although some fans will think Cuban is sugarcoating the situation, he does make a good point. Before the Kings traded for Domantas Sabonis, Holmes had a career-best year during the 2020-21 season, as he averaged 14.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks while shooting 63.7 percent from the field in 29.2 minutes per game as a full-time starter.

"[Richaun] told me he was in jail the last couple of years," GM Nico Harrison said when he joined NBA TV's broadcast of the Mavs' Summer League game against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.

If that's truly the case, then Holmes' theoretical handcuffs should finally be taken off in Dallas. Not only do the Mavs need what his skillset brings to the table after having such poor frontcourt depth last season, but playing alongside two of the best ball-handlers in the league in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving doesn't hurt his chances of making a big impact either.

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Published Jul 14, 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.