NBA Rumors: Mavs Thought Terrence Ross Had Verbally Committed to DAL Before Suns Buzz
The Dallas Mavericks reportedly thought they were in line to land veteran wing Terrence Ross following his buyout agreement with the Orlando Magic, but he seems poised to sign with the Western Conference rival Phoenix Suns instead.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Mavs believed they had a verbal commitment from Ross on Saturday, but he flipped to Phoenix instead while the Mavericks were playing against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.
Ross has not officially signed with a team yet, but ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Sunday that Suns head coach Monty Williams and owner Mat Ishbia sold him on the opportunity to play alongside Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
Stein noted that while financial terms of Ross' agreement with the Suns aren't yet known, Phoenix had the ability to outbid Dallas if need be.
The Suns still have mid-level exception money remaining, while the Mavs could have only offered Ross the prorated veteran minimum.
Both the Suns and Mavericks were aggressive at the trade deadline in an effort to bring in another superstar and improve their chances of contending for an NBA championship this season.
The Mavs acquired Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets to pair with Luka Dončić, while the Suns brought in Durant in a separate trade with the Nets, giving them a core of KD, Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton.
Ross, 32, would have been a great fit for either team after both depleted some of their depth in order to land Irving and Durant, respectively.
The Mavs shipped off two key contributors in Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith, while the Suns dealt Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder in the KD deal.
Ross is having a down year, as his 8.0 points per game is his lowest mark since his rookie season with the Toronto Raptors in 2012-13, but some of that can be attributed to usage.
His 22.5 minutes per game is his lowest average since his rookie campaign, as is his 7.1 shot attempts per game mark.
Despite the downward trend in playing time, Ross' 1.5 three-pointers made per game this season are up from last season's 1.2, and he is shooting 43.1 percent from the field, which is his best field-goal percentage since 2016-17.
He is also shooting 38.1 percent from beyond the arc, which is the fourth-best percentage of his 11-year NBA career.
Ross isn't far removed from a career year in 2020-21, when he averaged a career-high 15.6 points and 2.3 assists per game, which suggests he can still produce if given more run.
While Ross likely would have played a fairly sizable role off the bench in Dallas, the Mavs already have a fairly similar player in Tim Hardaway Jr.
The Suns are severely lacking wing depth, though, and it is possible Ross could be Williams' top option off the bench ahead of Damion Lee and Josh Okogie.
