Dallas Mavericks: To Retool Or To Rebuild?

This time last year, the Dallas Mavericks ended their season in somewhat of a high note — taking the eventual champions, the San Antonio Spurs, to the brink of elimination before losing admirably in Game 7.

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Fast forward a year later, the Mavs are once again going fishing after the first round. However, the overall sentiment surrounding the organization is not nearly as optimistic as the season before.

For one, the team was generally outclassed by their counterparts, the Houston Rockets; losing in decisive fashion in the form of a gentleman’s sweep*.

*Gentleman’s Sweep (n.): An NBA playoff series that ends in five games.

Along the way, the team imploded — the star point guard they had traded for during the season, Rajon Rondo, would quit on the team after a series of verbal spats with head coach Rick Carlisle; their indomitable superstar, Dirk Nowitzki, would finally show signs of his advanced age, especially on the defensive end; their key off-season signee, Chandler Parsons, would suffer a serious knee injury; while their defensive anchor, Tyson Chandler, looked, for the most part, befuddled in trying to contain the Rockets’ four-five pick-and-roll game.

It was a fun series to watch, as defense was merely an option for both teams; but for Mavericks fans, the team’s premature finish brings to light a more glaring issue: Dallas, as currently constructed, are a classic treadmill team, perpetually stuck in basketball’s version of purgatory (a.k.a. the seventh and eighth seeds).

As such, as the Mavs enter another off season filled with uncertainty — with only four players slated on the active roster next season (if the team decides to pick up Dwight Powell‘s team option) — their front office is poised to orchestrate yet another Dallas Maverick-makeover.

With the amount of available roster spots the Mavs will have at their disposal, this would be an ideal opportunity for the organization to strip it all down and conduct a full rebuild. But, with Dirk entering the final guarantee year of his contract (with a player option in the summer of 2016), owner, Mark Cuban, would most likely feel obligated to build a facade contender around the Big Germanator.

But a failed retool would mean giving up their first round pick next year (top-7 protected) to the Boston Celtics for their half-year rental of Rondo. It’ll take a herculean effort from the Mavs front office this summer, with their limited resources, to refurbish this Mavericks rendition into a legit contender.

The general consensus, though, is that as long as Dirk is wearing a Dallas Mavericks uniform, the team will most likely go all-in — even if it means another first-round exit next year.

With that being said, there are some intriguing names in this summer’s free agency pool. The point guard position doesn’t offer anything of significance, with Jeremy Lin and Mo Williams headlining the list; the shooting guard position, on the other hand, features two highly-touted 3-and-D studs, in Wesley Matthews (however, he will be coming off a ruptured Achilles injury) and Danny Green.

And of course, the prized free agents this off season derive in the front court — specifically speaking, in stretch power forward LaMarcus Aldridge and cyborg center DeAndre Jordan, both of whom are Texas natives mind you.

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Rumors have already began to swirl regarding Jordan leaving Lob City for the Big D, and likewise, Aldridge taking his talents back to his home state.

A DJ-signing would mean saying good bye, once again, to Tyson Chandler. Meanwhile, the arrival of LaMarcus would mean a move to bench for Nowitzki — a sacrifice he is more than willing to make.

While Jordan would shore up Dallas’ anemic struggles on the defensive end, Aldridge would spawn a rare breed of versatility for the Mavs and enable Carlisle to open up his avant-garde playbook. Most notably, a Dirk-LaMarcus stretch 4-and-5 combination would be a nearly unstoppable proposition.

Another option for the Mavericks brass is to attack the trading market. A target that comes to mind immediately would be expeditious point guard, Ty Lawson, who recently expressed his interest in joining the Mavs through a tactless conversation on Twitter.

Whatever the Dallas Mavericks chooses to do this summer, one thing will be for certain: the roster will look completely different by the start of training camp — which has become somewhat of a regular occurrence for the organization since their unexpected championship run in 2011.

For Mavs fans sake, here’s to hoping lightning can strike twice.

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