DALLAS _ On the bright side, no matter what happens to the Dallas Mavericks, their 2016 free-agent summer will be better than Oklahoma City's.
As shock waves rattled through the NBA with Kevin Durant's decision to bolt from the Thunder and join Golden State on a two-year contract worth $54 million, the Mavericks apparently made sure there would be no DeAndre Jordan demons lurking in their pursuit of Harrison Barnes.
And they also reaped another benefit in the fallout of the Warriors-Durant marriage. Soon after the news hit, the Mavericks worked out a deal with Golden State to acquire center Andrew Bogut, a source said. It was uncertain if there was anything else coming to the Mavericks in the deal.
The Mavericks did not have to give up any players to make the deal work since they had enough cap space to absorb Bogut's $11 million expiring contract. That gives them a solid rebounder at center who also is a good rim protector and clearly has plenty of playoff experience after being part of the Warriors' championship team in 2015.
The trade, as well as the signing of Barnes, cannot be official until Thursday, when the moratorium on transactions ends.
Bogut is apparently good friends with Barnes, which may have been a help with the Mavericks not having to sweat out other teams offering to sign Barnes for the maximum deal that the Mavericks have already said they will offer. They took steps by ensuring there would be no problems when they agreed with Barnes on the four-year, $94 million deal, which they could do when Golden State renounced its rights to Barnes, making him an unrestricted free agent.
It reflects well on Barnes' commitment to the Mavericks. They were the first to show him the love with the monster contract, plus they have a starting spot waiting for him.
The quick agreement means other teams _ perhaps Oklahoma City or Miami _ will not be a threat to steal Barnes away.
That said, the Mavericks have learned not to take anything for granted after last summer, when they got a commitment from DeAndre Jordan, only to see him renege on that agreement days later.
Bogut, 31, has averaged double-figure rebounds in four of his 11 seasons and last season pulled down seven boards per game while playing fewer than 21 minutes.
The Warriors also are prepared to renounce Festus Ezeli, a promising younger big man who might better fit the Mavericks' desire to continue a youth movement while remaining competitive.
However, the Mavericks would have had to offer Ezeli a long-term contract and that could jeopardize their ability to make moves next summer, when the free-agent class is much deeper, although perhaps not with the star-level of Durant.
As it stands, the Mavericks appear well-positioned to get both Barnes and Bogut.
That would, ostensibly, give the Mavericks 12 players under contract, were both to end up in Dallas.
The Mavericks have nine players either signed or who have agreed to terms: Dwight Powell, Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews, A.J. Hammons, Justin Anderson, Devin Harris, J.J. Barea, Salah Mejri and JaVale McGee.
Dirk Nowitzki's re-signing is believed to be only a formality.
Barnes and Bogut would bring the total to 12 and the Mavericks could have a starting lineup of Nowitzki, Barnes, Bogut, Matthews and Williams.
Off the bench would be Barea, Harris, Anderson, Powell, Hammons, Mejri and McGee.
They still would have three spots open, although not much cash left to spend.
With the above players, the Mavericks probably could find a way to give Nowitzki perhaps $15 million per season, although there are ways to scale that number up or down.
