With the end of the preseason rapidly approaching, the Dallas Mavericks will have to decide which two players they want for the final roster spots.
The preseason is officially over for the Dallas Mavericks. With the season set to open on Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers, the team will look to move past a 2-5 preseason and get started on their 2016-17 campaign.
But there are still a few moves that need to be made.
Right now, the roster features 20 players. However, the NBA allows just 15 players on the roster to start the regular season.
The starting lineup of Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews, Harrison Barnes, Dirk Nowitzki and Andrew Bogut is already set along with the bench, which is made up of 13 players. The Mavs have had seven players competing for two roster spots throughout the course of the preseason, and they’ll need to choose who sticks with the team by Monday, when rosters are made official for opening night.
As the preseason has progressed and players have showcased their talents for the team, it’s become obvious that the race is down to just three players: Nicolas Brussino, Dorian Finney-Smith and Jonathan Gibson.
One of those spots has already been taken by Brussino, who was signed this summer after playing in Argentina. Marc Stein of ESPN reported that the Mavs plan on keeping him on the final roster now that his deal is fully guaranteed.
The Mavs are committed to keeping Nicolas Brussino, sources say. The Argentina prospect's $543,471 deal is fully guaranteed at 5 PM today.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 20, 2016
During the preseason, he averaged 5.6 points and 2.3 rebounds per game on 45 percent shooting from the floor and 49 percent shooting from three. His length and ability to shoot the ball stood out as he showed promise on the offensive end of the floor.
With that in mind, the final roster spot likely comes down to either Finney-Smith, an undrafted forward from Florida, or Gibson, an NBA Summer League standout.
Finney-Smith is currently signed to a partially guaranteed deal that will become fully guaranteed on Jan. 10. His game is centered on a common term in the NBA known as 3-and-D, meaning his strengths are shooting the three-ball and impacting the team on the defensive end of the floor.
In the preseason, he averaged 3.3 points and 3.0 rebounds a game while shooting 46 percent form three.
Finney-Smith’s game relies on his length to help him succeed on the defensive end of the court. He isn’t the best player when it comes to driving the lane, but he can make a difference on the boards.
Gibson is currently signed to a fully guaranteed deal and has a little bit of history. While Finney-Smith is just 23 years of age, Gibson enters the scene as a 28-year-old looking for a chance.
He’s put up monster numbers overseas and served as arguably the Mavs’ best player in Summer League this year. His offense is definitely his biggest strength as he can get hot pretty fast. He averaged 7.1 points per game in the preseason but shot just 30 percent from the floor and had some rough nights, like his 3-for-11 night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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Gibson remained one of the hottest prospects for the Mavs throughout the preseason, but his biggest challenge is overcoming the fact that the Mavs already have three point guards on the roster — four if you count Seth Curry. They aren’t really in need of a boost in that department.
So basically when it comes down to it, the Mavs will be picking between the offensive side of the court or the defensive side of the court.
Finney-Smith is a younger player with solid three-point shooting who makes a living on the defensive side of the ball while Gibson is a hot scorer that doesn’t have as much of a defensive presence.
If you asked me to pick one player to make the roster right now, I would say Finney-Smith. First, he provides defense, as mentioned above, which is something the Mavs are in need of.
Second, he went undrafted in the 2016 draft, meaning he’s a player with room to grow while Gibson is likely in his prime right now. And third, he provides much-needed depth at the forward position, while Gibson would likely be stuck behind Deron Williams, Devin Harris and J.J. Barea.
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In the end, the player that is picked is going to be nothing more than a garbage time player this season, unless the team gets into serious injury trouble. Regardless, it’s important for the team to weight their options and focus on finding pieces that can help them continue to build their future.