As Golden State eyes the productive free-agent guard, Dallas leans on new additions Sergio De Larrea and Marcus Sasser to solidify a backcourt depth chart prepared for departures.
Brandon Williams played well enough last season to make losing him sting.
The Dallas Mavericks may have also spent the summer making sure it wouldn't hurt quite as much.
The Golden State Warriors have interest in Williams, which our own Grant Afseth confirmed Wednesday morning ... and it's hardly difficult to understand why.
Williams is coming off the most productive season of his NBA career, averaging 13.0 points, 3.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds across 66 appearances for Dallas. He shot 47.2 percent from the field while averaging 22.2 minutes per game.
The 26-year-old is an unrestricted free agent after carving out a meaningful role in the Mavs' backcourt.
And if Golden State eventually turns its interest into an agreement, Dallas has reason to feel considerably better about losing Williams after the moves it made this summer.
That's because Masai Ujiri and the Mavs haven't exactly ignored their backcourt.
Dallas acquired the draft rights to Sergio De Larrea, whom the Los Angeles Lakers selected with the No. 25 overall pick in June. The 20-year-old Spanish guard is listed at 6-foot-6 and averaged 9.4 points and 3.5 assists for Valencia Basket last season while shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range.
The Mavs also added Marcus Sasser in July as part of a multi-team trade, giving Dallas another guard with NBA experience to work into its new-look backcourt.
Neither move guarantees Dallas can replace Williams' production ... which is important to keep in mind.
De Larrea has yet to play a regular-season NBA game, while Sasser arrives with a different recent role and production level than the player Williams became last season. Williams, meanwhile, has already demonstrated what he can provide Dallas.
So keeping him would certainly have value.
But the Mavs aren't in the same position they would've been had Williams departed before their summer backcourt additions.
De Larrea gives Dallas a younger developmental option with elite playmaking ability, and Sasser provides another intriguing guard with three seasons of NBA experience.
Those additions don't erase what Williams provided, but they give the Mavs more alternatives for distributing the minutes and responsibilities he would leave behind.
That makes Golden State's interest easier to stomach.
Williams earned the opportunity to explore what the best season of his NBA career created for him. If that eventually takes him to the Warriors or somewhere else, Dallas would be losing a productive player who became an important part of last season's rotation.
The Mavericks just wouldn't be losing him without alternatives.
De Larrea and Sasser don't make Williams expendable, though they do make keeping him far less essential.
