The Dallas Mavericks are a team that earned their first NBA Championship over the past decade. However, the team has been in decline since then, and despite Dirk Nowitzki's loyalty, have been out of contention. With that said, they've got a promising young point guard in Dennis Smith Jr., as well as the No. 5 pick in the NBA Draft. There are also NBA rumors involving free agency, with one report suggesting that the team believes they can land free agent DeMarcus Cousins.

Mavs' free agency considerations

In a previous report, it was mentioned that the Celtics' Marcus Smart is on the team's radar, but so is a free agent big man.

The comments regarding DeMarcus Cousins come from a recent report by The Athletic's Michael Scotto. He mentioned that the team believes they have a "strong chance" to sign Cousins in free agency. Scotto mentioned that there were a few other players that could be considered including Houston Rockets player Clint Capela, and DeAndre Jordan. Jordan would have to decline his $24.1 million player option in order to become a free agent, though.

It's worth mentioning that the Dallas Mavericks already tried to court Jordan before and that didn't work out quite in their favor. However, Cousins presents himself as an attractive option should he decide to leave the Pelicans. While he's been part of a dominant frontcourt in New Orleans, it's clear that the team does just fine with Anthony Davis as the main big man.

Adding other pieces to that puzzle might be necessary.

Mavs' No. 5 pick could give an indication

The Dallas Mavericks will have the No. 5 pick in Thursday night's NBA Draft. There have been a lot of players named as their prospective pick in NBA mock drafts. One player has been Mohamed Bamba, a talented big man from the University of Texas.

Scotto mentioned that if Dallas passes on Bamba Thursday night, it's probably a good sign that they'll go after one of the available big men, such as DeMarcus Cousins, in free agency.

The Dallas Mavericks finished at just 24-58 this past season which was fourth in the NBA's Southwest Division. If there was ever a more obvious sign that they need a good inside rebounder, it's their player stats.

Harrison Barnes led the team in scoring (18.9 points per game) and had 6.1 rebounds a game to lead the Mavs. With DeMarcus Cousins, they'd clearly have a great inside presence to work the inside-outside game with Dennis Smith Jr., Barnes, and others.

So Dallas Mavericks fans will be staying tuned to what transpires on Thursday night. If the fifth pick isn't named "Mo," then "Boogie" may be a prime target in free agency.
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