Tuesday morning, Marc Stein published a report that the Dallas Mavericks had discussions last week with the Phoenix Suns about acquiring Deandre Ayton. He mentions that the talks may or may not be dead after the Suns rebuffed the Dallas offer.
Since we’re in limbo and free agency doesn’t start until Friday afternoon, it’s worth discussing the biggest question that would immediately follow that transaction: Can the Mavericks make the trade the reported Ayton turned down and still utilize the Full MLE (Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception)? Dallas is a thin team on paper and acquiring another big contract in Ayton’s could make filing in-depth on the Mavericks difficult.