Trade Deadline Series: Mavs’ Player Value – DeJuan Blair

Welcome to the fourth edition of our series, in which we are looking at each Mavericks player and their value on the trade market with other teams. Be sure to check back every day as we count down towards the trade deadline.

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DeJuan Blair

What’s the market value of this offensive rebounding energy player off the bench?

Salary:

$884,293

Age:

24 years 10 months

Season Stats:

7.5 PPG – 5.8 RPG – 1.1 APG

Potential: 

Probably has already reached it in being a good, defensive presence backup for a playoff caliber team off the bench. Could be an eventual backup for a Championship contender.

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Trade Value:

Blair was signed to a one year- $ 884,293 deal which could possibly be his only with the Mavs as he will test his value in the open market once again this summer (similar to the situation with OJ Mayo from last year). Blair was initially drafted out of the University of Pittsburg by the San Antonio Spurs with the 37^th overall pick in the 2009 draft. Blair saw his role diminish as the years went by (going from about 22 MPG his second year to just over 13 MPG last season) mostly due to the emergence of players like Boris Diaw and Tiago Splitter. The team eventually left him without an offer during the free agency period this summer. The rival Mavs scooped in and picked him up on an absolute bargain deal with the team hoping to use him for one year as a solid back up and Blair hoping to prove his market worth and lock up a longer deal this upcoming summer.

The 6-foot-7, 265-pound Blair (who was born without ACL’s in both his knees) provides some muscle and a mean streak in the big-man rotation. With Samuel Dalembert starting and the 6 foot-10 Brandan Wright playing the backup 4 on most occasions, Blair has made legitimate contributions this season, especially against teams with physical frontcourts. Blair, who is certainly an upgrade over last year’s backup Elton Brand, currently holds a career high player efficiency rating (PER) with a 17.55.

Trade value wise, Blair is one of the bigger immediate assets the Mavs have since his contact is an expiring and is so low. He can be shipped to a contending team or even a fringe playoff team looking for better rebounding as they make a run for the playoffs. Typically with expiring contracts, teams don’t yield quality players in return but in this case (with Wright showing he can play the 4 or 5), the Mavs could easily trade him for a late first round pick or a young prospect from overseas. If the Mavs were to ask for an established player in return, the Mavs could certainly make deals with Atlanta (Pero Antic 2 year $ 580,000) or Washington (Kevin Seraphin $ 2.7 million expiring contract) among others would make sense for both parties as teams such as themselves are looking for a final piece for their respective playoff push.

Although Blair has shown he can contribute for the Mavs and help them in their own right, he is one of their bigger assets (especially with his improved efficiency) and the Mavs could certainly get a great deal for the low-costing undersized Center. If the Mavs decide to stand their ground and not deal him, he could still walk away for nothing this coming summer, hopefully in that scenario though, the Mavs would have a playoff appearance to show for them holding tight on him.

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Days until trade deadline: 7 days

Stay tuned!