Free Agency: Rival nabs possible Warriors backup plan should Markkanen trade occur

Despite beating out the Golden State Warriors and 13 other teams to the 2024 Western Conference championship, the Dallas Mavericks have been active looking to replenish their roster this offseason.

Warrior franchise legend Klay Thompson headlines their acquisitions following a completed sign-and-trade earlier in the month, but now the Mavericks have moved to reunite with one of the best free agents left on the market.

Dallas have signed veteran point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, as first reported by The Athletic's Shams Charania on Monday. The 31-year-old rejoins the franchise after previously playing for them for parts of the 2021-22 and 2022-23 season, including have been a key part of their 2022 Conference Finals to the Warriors.

Spencer Dinwiddie would have been one of the best available options for the Golden State Warriors should they trade Brandin Podziemski

While Dinwiddie's form was poor to end last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, he was nonetheless viewed by many as the second best point guard remaining in free agency behind nine-year veteran Tyus Jones.

Dinwiddie averaged 17.3 points on 36.9% three-point shooting in 2022-23, suggesting he's still capable of being a productive rotation player behind the star duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

So how this impact the Warriors, aside from the Mavericks being a conference rival? Well, if a trade for Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen does ultimately eventuate in the next fortnight, Golden State could find themselves desperately in need of a backup point guard.

Brandin Podziemski is currently slated for that role, along with potentially being a starter alongside Stephen Curry. Yet the talented 21-year-old could also be the difference between the Warriors getting Markkanen or not, with NBA insider Marc Stein reporting on Sunday that 'Utah's interest in Golden State's Brandin Podziemski is serious enough that it keeps alive the prospect of a Markkanen trade between now and Aug. 6.'

If the Warriors were to deal Podziemski as part of a trade for Markkanen, they'd have no forseeable backup point guard on the roster and would therefore have to go hunting minimum contract players in free agency. In that scenario, Dinwiddie would have been one of their best options.

Instead, the 10-year veteran is headed to the Mavericks where he and Thompson will hope to help the franchise go one better than their Finals defeat to the Boston Celtics last month.