Dallas Mavericks: Jason Terry Could Be A Depth Option

With a couple of guards hitting the free agency market, the Dallas Mavericks could look to a former Sixth Man of the Year for help off the bench next season.

Heading into free agency this summer, the Dallas Mavericks will be looking to accomplish two things: signing a superstar and creating a deeper roster.

The latter of the two options is something that we actually could see the team complete this summer. Right now, the Mavs have Wesley Matthews, J.J. Barea and Devin Harris signed on as the only guards for next season. You could include Justin Anderson in that conversation, but he also plays a lot of forward minutes.

Both Deron Williams (14.1 PPG, 5.8 APG, 2.9 RPG) and Raymond Felton (9.5 PPG, 3.6 APG, 3.2 RPG) will be hitting the market this summer as Williams plans to opt out of his current contract to join Felton as an unrestricted free agent.

They both seem intent on remaining in Dallas, but with Mike Conley serving as the only star point guard, Williams and Felton could end up getting some decent pay raises from their respective $5.3 million and $4.5 million contracts in 2015-16, ultimately driving the Mavs away.

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Even when the Mavs do find their starting point guard, they’ll still need depth at the shooting guard position, as they were forced to use guards like Felton and Harris to back up Matthews last season.

That’s where Jason Terry could come into play. The veteran guard spent his best years (2004-12) with the Mavs, serving as a fan favorite and provider of energy.

From winning the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2008-09 to playing a major role in the 2011 championship run, it was a sad day when Mavs fans saw that Terry had signed with the Boston Celtics during the 2012 free agency period.

Since then, Terry has played a season with the Celtics, one with the Brooklyn Nets and the last two with the Houston Rockets. This summer, he will be an unrestricted free agent after averaging 5.9 points, 1.4 assists and 1.1 rebounds per game. At 38 years of age, it’s obvious that Terry is close to retirement, but he recently expressed interest in playing another season (via SportsDay):

"“I have enough spite, enough dog left in me and experience to realize my value for an organization, and that’s in the locker room and then on the court in the fourth quarter when it’s clutch time. So I’m still chasing that championship. One was just not good enough for me. Losing the first one is definitely a more lasting memory than even winning in 2011, so that’s what drives me these days. Obviously, if an opportunity comes up, I’ll have to look at it. But I want to play another year.”"

Terry also went on to express his love for Mark Cuban and the Mavericks franchise:

"“That’s another phone call that you just can’t turn down. Cuban always in my heart will have first dibs. It’s always a situation at the end of the day that’s business, but Dallas is home. My family is here, and I’m a Maverick for life.”"

This isn’t the first time Terry has been interested in coming back to the Mavs either. Even when he left for Boston back in 2012, he mentioned that he intended on ending his career in Dallas.

So with most likely just one year left, wouldn’t this seem like the right time to come back to Dallas and end a great career with the franchise where he made a name for himself?

The move would make sense for the Mavs, who could use some depth at the shooting guard position and an extra veteran presence in the locker room. Terry certainly wouldn’t be as productive as he was in his first stretch with the team, but feeding off of the home crowd in Dallas and being with his good buddies Dirk Nowitzki, J.J. Barea and Rick Carlisle would be enough to create a slight spark in his averages.

He also has the ability to play both point guard and shooting guard, which is something that could’ve worked well last season when the Mavs had three injured point guards in the playoffs.

Terry is coming off of a year where he made around $1.5 million, meaning the Mavs would be able to sign him to similar deal, or perhaps one for a little less, which wouldn’t impact their hopes of signing other impact players for the 2016-17 season.

I also find it a little interesting that Terry mentioned the Mavs when discussing Dwight Howard‘s future. Might Terry be looking to join the Mavs this summer and persuade his teammate to come along with him? Maybe. Probably not. But you never know.

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The Mavs entertained the thought of bringing Terry back last summer too, but with his career possibly coming to a close after next season, they could look to sign him cheap and add another bench threat to solidify their shooting guard position.

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