Dallas Mavericks 2012-13 NBA Preview

Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com

Dallas Mavericks

2011-12 Vitals:

36-30, 3rd in Southwest Division, 7th in Western Conference

2012-13 Roster:

Rodrigue Beaubois – G
Elton Brand – PF
Vince Carter – SG
Darren Collison – PG
Jae Crowder – SF
Jared Cunningham – SG
Tadija Dragicevic – SF
Bernard James – C
Dahntay Jones – SG
Dominique Jones – SG
Chris Kaman – C
Shawn Marion – SF
O.J. Mayo – SG
Dirk Nowitzki – PF
Delonte West – SG
Brandan Wright – PF

Offseason Additions:

O.J. Mayo, Chris Kaman, Darren Collison, Elton Brand, Jared Cunningham, Dahntay Jones, Bernard James, Jae Crowder

Offseason Subtractions:

Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Lamar Odom, Brendan Haywood, Kelenna Azubuike, Ian Mahinmi

Projected Starters:

PG – Darren Collison
SG – O.J. Mayo
SF – Shawn Marion
PF – Dirk Nowitzki
C – Chris Kaman

Season Outlook:

The Dallas Mavericks are only two years removed from their NBA title but last year’s embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder made it seem much longer.

Mark Cuban overhauled a lot of the roster, bringing in some young talent in Collison and Mayo, while adding veterans like Brand and Kaman. He made sure to keep the contracts short so that he’ll still have the financial flexibility to sign a high-profile free agent down the line.

In short, the Mavericks aren’t title contenders anymore but they’re going to be good enough to get into the playoffs. It’s a short-term stopgap until the reinforcements arrive.

Best-Case Scenario:

Nowitzki doesn’t suffer any skill regression and Mayo turns into the electric scorer he was expected to be. Brand and Kaman shore up the middle and the Mavericks find themselves as the sixth seed in the Western Conference, ultimately losing to the San Antonio Spurs in round one.

Worst-Case Scenario:

The old guys look old and the young guys don’t mesh well. The Mavericks hover around .500, miss the playoffs, and Mark Cuban quietly giggles to himself about how smart his short contract plan was.