JaVale McGee didn't wait on Deandre Ayton, Kevin Durant situations, signed with Dallas Mavericks

LAS VEGAS – JaVale McGee wasn’t trying to play on a one-year deal for a third straight season.

So the 15-year veteran big man signed a three-year contract with the Dallas Mavericks for $20.4 million after his one season with the Phoenix Suns.

“It’s extremely big,” McGee said. “The past couple of years, I really wanted to focus on consistency and comfortability. Being comfortable, you play a whole different way.”

The Mavs officially announced the signing Saturday.

“Especially for my family, it’s definitely a blessing," McGee added.

McGee was on a panel discussion at a pre-investor mixer Saturday evening in Las Vegas for 450 Culture Connect of the National Basketball Players Association’s Players Accelerator program and a16z’s Cultural Leadership Fund.

“It’s extremely important,” said the three-time NBA champion and Olympic gold medalist. “As a basketball player, basketball is basketball and you’ve got to be locked in all season. So when the season is over, you’ve got to take advantage of these opportunities to talk on panels like this or even come to events like where you can learn new things or just tweak new things and get better at what you do.”

McGee seemed bound to return to the Suns after playing such a key role in their historic season, but things didn’t unfold that way.

“I think it was more of having to wait for the Deandre Ayton and now KD (Kevin Durant), trying to figure it out,” said the 34-year-old McGee, when asked if the Suns didn’t want to give him a multi-year deal. “For me, it was just like at this stage of my career and what I’m looking for, I don’t have time to be waiting on somebody else.”

Durant asked for a trade from Brooklyn on the first day of free agency June 30 and put Phoenix and Miami atop his trade wish list. This appears to have impacted Ayton’s free agency as he’s a restricted free agent.

The Suns can match an offer sheet to Ayton up to the max of four years, $131 million, and pay him more than anyone else (four years, $136 million or five years, $171 million).

“It’s crazy,” McGee said. “I feel like it’s good for the entertainment part of the NBA. I feel like fans are on edge. It’s like a soap opera. They’re locked in and it’s amazing. Truly amazing.”

McGee played a key role in Phoenix finishing with a franchise-record 64 wins to earn the top overall seed in the 2022 NBA playoffs. Bringing infectious energy, athleticism and professionalism, the 7-footer averaged 9.2 points on 62.9 shooting and 6.7 rebounds as a backup big to Ayton.

Starting 17 games, McGee had a tremendous connection with his teammates that could be clearly seen in Phoenix's pregame huddle that garnished national attention as the Suns ripped through the league in the regular season.

MORE: How JaVale McGee leads Phoenix Suns' animated pre-game ritual

Last month, several of McGee’s Suns teammates – Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Cameron Payne and Torrey Craig – came out to support McGee's JUGLIFE charity softball game at Chase Field.

So while McGee enjoyed being around the Suns and vice versa, McGee kept his options open heading into free agency as he was an unrestricted free agent.

“Definitely a team on my list and I would love to be back," McGee said about the Suns prior to free agency. "You know how the offseason goes. You never know what can happen. Trades, signings. But yeah, I'm definitely open to it."

McGee ended up landing with the team that abruptly ended Phoenix's season.

The fourth-seeded Mavericks eliminated the Suns in the Western Conference semifinals. Dallas won the decisive Game 7 by 33 points, 123-90, with McGee playing a lesser role in the final three games of the series.

Suns coach Monty Williams elected to go with big Bismack Biyombo and guard Landry Shamet instead of McGee and point guard Cameron Payne off the bench in Game 5, which the Suns won by 30 at home to take a 3-2 series lead.

“(Biyombo) didn’t ‘wow’ you with scoring and that kind of thing, but his attention to detail and his ability to play in multiple efforts on defense and then he can finish around the basket,” said Williams after Game 5.

“That doesn’t mean JaVale can’t do it. We just went with Biz because we knew that he would bring that kind of energy and he’s matched up well against those guys. And then Landry, in his minutes, has shown that he can guard and stay in front of the ball a lot better than most people think. So that helped him and then he can space the floor and then his ability to handle the ball and initiate with (Devin Booker), allows for him to be on the floor with Book.”

Williams stuck with that strategy in Game 6 the Suns lost by 27 and in the first half of Game 7 Phoenix trailed by 30 at the half, 57-27.

“It definitely affected me,” said McGee, who didn’t play in Game 6. “I’m a basketball player. I want to play. It definitely affected me, but it didn’t affect me on coming back or not coming back. It definitely affected me mentally and just basketball wise.”

McGee is now looking to bring Dallas what he delivered in Phoenix.

"Being a pro is extremely important,” said McGee, who played 34 games for the Mavs in the 2015-16 season.

“I feel like they saw what I brought to the Phoenix Suns and they felt like I needed to bring that to Dallas and they needed that energy and on the defensive end, they needed that defensive presence and that vocal presence in the locker room. That veteran presence in the locker room. I’m excited and I definitely think that’s what did it.”

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: JaVale McGee explains why he ended up with Dallas, not Phoenix