Dallas Mavericks: 3 takeaways from the 2018 offseason
3. Growing pains are to be expected
The Mavericks were unable to retain sharpshooters Seth Curry and Doug McDermott, or defensive center Nerlens Noel. Acccording to Yahoo Sports! Shams Charania, Yogi Ferrell backed out of re-signing his two-year, $5.3 million contract to join the Sacramento Kings. The initial plan was to bring back the undrafted 25-year-old as the team’s primary backup shooting guard.
Sources: Guard Yogi Ferrell has changed course on Dallas Mavericks deal in order to reenter free agency. “We felt uncomfortable and will weigh our options,” agent Cervando Tejeda said.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 20, 2018
The Mavericks filled out the rest of the roster by signing all four of their draft picks in Doncic, Jalen Brunson, Raymond Spalding and Kostas Antetokounmpo. All of them lowered the team’s mean age to 26.4 years. The combined ages of Dallas’ future backcourt, Dennis Smith Jr. (20) and Doncic (19), is less than that of the Mavericks’ elder statesmen, the 40-year-old Nowitzki.
Furthermore, the Mavericks had one of the best benches in the league last season, ranking in the top 10 in scoring (sixth) and field goal percentage (ninth). With so many reliable veterans being swapped for inexperienced rookies, it’ll take time for everyone to adjust to the learning curve.