Dallas Mavericks: Should They Retool For 1 Last Run?

The Dallas Mavericks were overmatched this year in the playoffs. How can they approach their offseason to reach greater heights next year?

The Dallas Mavericks weren’t supposed to make the playoffs. Before the season, the loss of Monta Ellis and Tyson Chandler, paired with injury recoveries from Wesley Matthews and Chandler Parsons, was supposed to doom the Mavericks. When they jumped out to a fast start, it was attributed to an easy schedule.

When Parsons went down with another injury and was lost for the year, Dallas’ playoff hopes were declared dead.

The Mavericks responded by winning seven of their last nine games, including key matchups with Houston, Utah, and Memphis. This propelled them into the playoffs as the sixth seed, where they met the Oklahoma City Thunder. What followed was a hard-fought, chippy five games where tensions boiled over multiple times.

Although Dallas stole a game in Oklahoma City early in the series, they were unable to muster enough stops down the stretch in Game 5 to extend the series. Dirk Nowitzki proved he is still, somehow, the best player on this team despite being 37.

But Oklahoma City had Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook firmly in their primes, as well as key role players in Serge Ibaka and Enes Kanter.

Westbrook, perhaps incensed by Dallas owner Mark Cuban’s comments that he wasn’t a superstar, destroyed the Mavericks with unusual ferocity. The Thunder point guard and human wrecking ball finished with 36 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, while Durant hit 33 himself. The youth and star power of the Thunder was too much for Dallas.

And thus the Mavericks enter the offseason with their heads down and fortunes uncertain. How can they get younger and more talented without their first-round pick, relayed to Boston on account of the Rajon Rondo trade? Who wants to sign onto a team with an aging star, a collection of mediocre veteran point guards and a wing still recovering from last season’s knee surgery?

That question and more are among those the Mavericks must ask themselves this offseason.

Which Centers Should They Keep?

Dallas thought they had their center of the future last July, only for a collection of emojis and a barred door to tear DeAndre Jordan from their grasp — and, of course, Jordan getting cold feet. Their fill-ins for this season were a varied and inconsistent group and all enter the offseason as pending free agents or on non-guaranteed deals. Who should Dallas hang onto?

Salah Mejri is the best bet to stick around; the undrafted rookie out of Tunisia is signed to a very team-friendly deal through 2019 and played well for stretches during the season, starting six games during the regular season and one more in the playoffs. At 7-foot-1, he has the tools to be an effective rim protector and graded out well in defensive metrics during his playing time.

JaVale McGee is the surest bet to leave town. He cratered the Mavericks on both ends of the court when he saw playing time and was unable to get off the bench even with all of the injuries the Mavericks suffered during the playoffs.

Zaza Pachulia also seems a decent bet to sign elsewhere; his positive metrics and rebounding numbers give him value to contending teams, while Dallas needs a rim protector to pair with Nowitzki. Pachulia tries hard but isn’t best suited for that role.

How to Approach the Draft

The Mavericks have largely discarded the draft in recent years, sending away draft picks to acquire veteran players or to clear cap space to sign veteran players. The youth of their team comes from the first-rounder they were forced by rules to keep — rookie Justin Anderson — and a throw-in from the Rajon Rondo trade, sophomore forward Dwight Powell.

Mejri, although a rookie, will be 30 by the time of the draft.

Things won’t be getting much better this season either, as the Mavericks owe their first-round pick to Boston — again due to their ill-fated trade for Rondo. Their second-round pick will fall in the late 40s, well after the surefire prospects in a weak draft class. Dallas has to decide how to approach the pick.

On the one hand, Dirk is not getting any younger and Dallas will be gearing up for one last run. Getting an older, more polished player that could step into the rotation right away makes sense. Malcolm Brogdon, A.J. Hammons, Dorian Finney-Smith and Jarrod Uthoff all fit that bill

But on the other hand, at some point Dallas has to prepare for the future. The draft picks they have traded away for stop-gap veterans could be a strong core right now.

This is an unfair argument devoid of context, but if Dallas retained the picks they sent away they would have Jae Crowder, Steven Adams, Tyler Zeller and Kelly Olynyk to be joined by a mid-first rounder, perhaps Wade Baldwin IV or Denzel Valentine.

Instead, the Mavericks have receipts from money spent paying Rondo, Tyson Chandler, Monta Ellis and Chandler Parsons, the latter most likely leaving town this offseason.

If Dallas does invest in the future, they could take a higher-upside player with their second rounder. This could mean a young American prospect such as Melo Trimble or Ben Bentil or an international player like Zhou Qi or Juan Hernangomez.

Apr 1, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /

The Free Agency Game

It’s hard to project which free agents the Mavericks “should” pursue. Mark Cuban will swing for the fences and request a sit-down with every star, from Kevin Durant to Andre Drummond. We’ll assume that Dallas’ fragile veteran group doesn’t attract the top tier of stars.

However, with plenty of cap space in store, Dallas’ realistic best-case scenario could see them restocking the cupboard with veterans for one last run.

What does that best case scenario look like? Dallas can relinquish all free agents and non-guaranteed contracts, watch Parsons and Deron Williams walk, and free up more than $50 million in cap space.

However, Williams was a solid contributor when healthy this season, and he may wish to continue to recoup his value before pursuing one more contract next season when the cap jumps yet again. If Williams stays, Dallas will approach free agency looking to find two starters.

Nowitzki’s best frontcourt partners protect the rim and set crushing picks before rolling to the hoop. This applies perfectly to a dialed-in Hassan Whiteside, who will be looking to chase the biggest pay raise he can. Whiteside has been an inconsistent defender, but when he is locked in he has destroyed teams driving at the rim.

On offense he has been efficient around the hoop, serving as a devastating lob threat along the lines of Chandler or Jordan.

With Parsons departing the Mavericks also need help on the wing; Nicolas Batum would be an ideal fit, providing spacing, defense and playmaking. He will also be pursuing a max contract, but Dallas can make things fit with a small amount of cap work.

This scenario would see Dallas start Williams, Wesley Matthews, Batum, Dirk Nowitzki and Whiteside. Devin Harris, J.J. Barea, Jeremy Evans, David Lee, Justin Anderson, Salah Mejri and their second-round pick would fill out the bench.

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All things considered, that would be quite the retooling for Mark Cuban and the Mavericks, and they could make the best run possible in the playoffs next season.

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