DALLAS, TEXAS – Over the years analysts, supporters, and fans of the Dallas Mavericks have longed for a “big fish” free agency signing. It’s true that Dallas has all of the perks that big fish free agents laud – no state income tax, big city persona and marketability etc, but none of the perks that were aforementioned have been enough to attract players that hit the free agency market.
The advanced blueprint to building a championship team is to acquire two to three superstars and fill the roster with players who don’t need the ball in their hand to make things happen, but oftentimes catering to multiple stars can be problematic. That is a problem the Mavericks had last season with Luka Doncic & Kristaps Porzingis.
Not questioning the chemistry between the two players because Doncic and Porzingis are still one of the top duo’s in the league when it comes to the pick and roll/pop game, but discovering a way for both players to be effective while on the floor that translates to wins was a struggle.
It also speaks to how last season’s team wasn’t properly pieced together in a rushed and short offseason. For one, the Josh Richardson trade never panned out and was an odd fit, beginning the season as part of the starting lineup but eventually saw his role reduced as the season went on and wasn’t much of a factor by the time the postseason rolled around.
Secondly, the Mavericks only had one player off the bench that averaged more than 10 points and that was Jalen Brunson who finished the season averaging right under 13 points a game. The closest to Brunson’s point average was Trey Burke who averaged 6 points off the bench after averaging double that in the season prior.
Really it seemed as if the Mavericks were putting together the pieces on the fly with little planning or strategy which was noticeable throughout the season.
Now, the Mavericks offseason moves haven’t been the biggest, but new head coach Jason Kidd and new general manager Nico Harrison knew to some degree they needed to rectify the errors of their predecessors, by trading Josh Richardson to the Boston Celtics in exchange for a young inexpensive center Moses Brown.
The Mavericks improved their shooting arsenal by signing Reggie Bullock who shot 41% from three while playing for the New York Knicks last season and former SMU Mustang Sterling Brown who shot 42% from three and had career best in scoring, rebounding, and assists while playing 24 minutes a game last season with the Houston Rockets.
Dallas also re-signed players like Tim Hardaway Jr, who flourished in the starting lineup after starting the season on the bench, Willie Cauley-Stein who was one of the Mavericks best interior defenders, and fan favorite Boban Marjonovic whose impact helped Dallas grab a two game lead over the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs before ultimately losing the series 4-2.
It is yet to be seen if the Mavericks off-season moves are finished, but the current signings the team has made shows that this new coaching staff is committed to putting an efficient supporting cast around Luka Doncic & Kristaps Porzingis which will certainly make a difference.
Not to mention how experienced this team is now, experience is one if not the biggest currency in professional sports. With the exception of the rookies who were signed to two way deals or are undrafted free agents, 14 out of the 16 players currently on the roster have been to the postseason even if some of them have only sniffed the first round. Experience is experience.
Dallas has two of the top 25 players on their roster right now and there is no reason to try and reinvent the wheel. As the old adage goes; “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” but there isn’t anything wrong with tweaking some of the current parts to get better performance. That’s what the Mavericks are doing, making minor tweaks to get better performance from the collective.
