NBA Rumors: Mavericks likely to target Deandre Ayton, Khris Middleton in the offseason

The Dallas Mavericks (38-44) finished the regular season at 11th position in the Western Conference standings as they ended up being short on landing a play-in spot after dropping their last two games of the season.

With free agency involving questions regarding the future of Kyrie Irving with the team, the Mavericks organization will also have to attend to their questionable roster depth as it won't go that far next season in its current state.

According to The Athletic's Tim Cato, the Dallas Mavericks are looking to acquire Suns' Deandre Ayton and Bucks' Khris Middleton to improve their roster depth and surround their franchise player Luka Doncic with a much better supporting cast.

In a scenario wherein, Dallas somehow lands Khris Middleton, it fixes the team's long-standing problem in the wing position when it comes to acquiring a quality player. Middleton finished the regular season with an average of 15.1 points per game on 43.6% shooting, including 31.5% from three-point range, 4.9 assists and 4.2 rebounds in the 33 games he has played.

What about the possibility of acquiring Deandre Ayton? The Mavericks will get a boost in the center position but not that much different from what they have with Christian Wood. Ayton and Wood both lack a defensive presence at the rim and struggle in matchups against elite bigs around the league.

Deandre Ayton finished the regular season averaging 18.0 points per game on 58.8% shooting, including 29.2% from three-point range along with 10.0 rebounds. Compared to Wood's numbers, Ayton is much more reliable and consistent on the offensive end, however, Wood is much more efficient in scoring the ball.

Christian Wood finished the regular season averaging 16.6 points per game on 51.5% shooting, including 37.6% from three-point range along with 7.3 rebounds.

When it comes to trying to trade for Khris Middleton and Deandre Ayton, Dallas can't go wrong with both players as they will improve the roster and playoff chances of the team.

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Mavericks coach Jason Kidd on the decision to sit out starters in the final two games of the regular season

Last April, ESPN's Tim McMahon reported the decision to sit out starters in the final two games of the season as it was decided by both Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and general manager Nico Harrison.

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd spoke to the media about the decision made by the front office and gave his thoughts on the matter.

“It’s decisions sometimes are hard in this business,” Kidd said. “We’re trying to build a championship team. With this decision, this is maybe a step back. But hopefully, it leads to going forward.”

From Kidd's perspective, he felt that the team still had a chance to land a play-in spot with the final two games remaining for the season and the possible scenario of the Thunder dropping their game against the Grizzlies.

The decision made, however, resulted in the NBA conducting an investigation into the organization and later imposed a $750,000 fine for tanking.