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Dallas Mavericks: Grading The Offseason

By Gerald Bourguet

Jan 18, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks point guard Devin Harris (20) guards Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Wesley Matthews (2) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 127-111. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 18, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks point guard Devin Harris (20) guards Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Wesley Matthews (2) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 127-111. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dallas Mavericks
Jan 18, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks point guard Devin Harris (20) guards Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Wesley Matthews (2) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 127-111. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

Based on the individual moves the team did make, the Dallas Mavericks didn’t have a horrendous offseason. But when you take a look at what was lost — or, in the case of DeAndre Jordan, what was gained and THEN lost — and where the Mavs will be next season, Mark Cuban and company took a beating this summer.

Last season, Dallas won 50 games and made the playoffs as the seventh seed in the Western Conference before bowing out in five quick games against the Houston Rockets in the first round. For a team that looked like one of the more experienced, dangerous contenders in the West, it was yet another season of falling short of Cuban’s goal to give Dirk Nowitzki one more shot at a title.

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A midseason gamble on Rajon Rondo turned the league’s highest scoring offense into a middling unit and the chemical imbalance proved to be so unstable the team had to fake an injury for Rondo just to save public face after head coach Rick Carlisle benched him.

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A few months later, Monta Ellis, Tyson Chandler, Al-Farouq Aminu, Amar’e Stoudemire and Richard Jefferson have ALL joined Rondo in getting out of Big D, leaving the Mavs with Chandler Parsons and an aging Dirk Nowitzki to build around.

As has been the theme for years now, Mark Cuban swung for the fences to give his franchise player another shot at greatness. That shortsighted approach will leave Dallas grasping at straws now that they’ve struck out once again, only this time, all those years of punting on the draft and searching for short-term fixes may have finally caught up with them.

Here’s a look at Dallas’ ill-fated summer and how the Mavericks responded to adversity with complete offseason grades.

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