Mavericks Rumors: JaVale McGee Available at Trade Deadline After Kyrie Irving Deal

The Dallas Mavericks have reportedly "looked for ways to move" veteran center JaVale McGee in a trade ahead of the Feb. 9 deadline, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

McGee has played an extremely limited role for the Mavericks off the bench this season, making him expendable and potentially an avenue to get more complementary pieces for franchise cornerstone Luka Dončić and new acquisition Kyrie Irving.

McGee has seen both Christian Wood (28.8 MPG) and Dwight Powell (19.7 MPG) soak up the majority of the starts and minutes at center, leaving him with a reduced role. The result is paltry averages of 3.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.5 blocks per game.

He was far more impactful in a reserve role for the Phoenix Suns last season, averaging 9.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in 15.8 minutes per game. That sort of impact is what many teams like off the bench in a backup center, and Dallas should have some suitors.

The Mavericks will have some general rotational kinks to iron out with Irving and Markieff Morris now on the roster and Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith now departed. While Irving will naturally take on Dinwiddie's role, the fascinating aspect will be who gets the first crack at Finney-Smith's role.

The Mavericks could experiment with smaller lineups, as they did in a surprising 124-111 win on Monday over the Utah Jazz without Dončić, Irving or any of the players who departed in the trade.

They also could try playing Wood alongside Powell in the starting lineup, though that feels like an awkward fit. Morris might get a crack at the starting 4 role as well, though he's largely been utilized as a role player in the past several seasons.

So dangling McGree for some potential help in that role makes sense for Dallas as they look to further build a contending squad.