With Wednesday night's win over the Toronto Raptors, the Dallas Mavericks improved to 34-25 and moved into the seventh seed in the Western Conference.
Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and PJ Washington all performed, and the Mavs' offense was firing on all cylinders. It was good to see Washington break out of its slump as they sank five 3-pointers and played with confidence.
Dallas is playing well, but there are still holes on the roster that need to be filled.
After trading away three players and acquiring just two, the Mavs were left with 14 players on their roster. This would give them some flexibility to complete their playoff roster, and the Atlanta Hawks recently announced an unexpected deal that could pay dividends for the Mavs if they decide to take advantage of it. I made a move.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Hawks will waive point guard Patty Mills. The Mavs happen to have a hole at the backup point guard position, and Mills is a player they could consider signing to fill that hole.
This season, Mills is averaging 2.7 points, 1.1 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.5 steals per game while shooting 37.3 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from downtown. It's been Mills' worst season since his rookie year, but the Mavs could pursue him to provide some depth in fellow Australian Dante Exum.
Exum's season has been plagued by injuries, and the Mavs need another player who can lead the second unit when needed. Jaden Hardy has proven he can do it, but his playing time has fluctuated wildly as of late despite playing the best basketball of his career.
Mills isn't a huge game changer for this team, but signing another veteran in the locker room with plenty of playoff experience could be a great idea. The Hawks waiving him wasn't an expected move, and they could have gifted the Mavs a backup point guard to help them make the playoffs.
Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the Dallas Mavericks this season.
