2018 NBA free agency grades: Mavericks bringing back Devin Harris

The Dallas Mavericks are bringing back Devin Harris once again, providing a quality mentor to their two young point guards.

The Dallas Mavericks continue to stack up at the point guard position, bringing back Devin Harris on a one-year deal worth $2.4 million, according to Yahoo! Sports‘ Jordan Schultz.

A 14-year veteran, this will be Harris’s third stint in Dallas, where he played from 2004-08 and then again from 2013 to the middle of this past season before being shipped to the Denver Nuggets at the trade deadline in February.

Over the course of 71 games split between the Mavericks and Nuggets, Harris produced in limited playing time with 8.4 points and 2.1 assists in only 18.9 minutes a night.

Given that his stats per 36 minutes get bumped up to 16.0 points and 4.1 assists, and Harris can still consistently produce even at age 35.

Including Harris, the Mavericks currently have five point guards on their roster, which could leave little in the room of playing time for the former All-Star.

However, given that J.J. Barea is the only one of the bunch to have more than a single year of NBA experience, coupled with Dallas’s desire to avoid another tank job, Harris could find himself on the court in crunch time more often than not.

Given head coach Rich Carlisle’s creativity on the offensive end, we may also see a dual point guard lineup featuring Harris due to the scarcity of players at 2-guard for the Mavs.

This could allow Harris to share the court with one of either Dennis Smith Jr., Luka Doncic or Jalen Brunson, taking some ball-handling pressure off those young guys and allowing them to ease into that type of responsibility.

Because of all this influx of talented floor generals now on the roster, the Mavericks clearly wanted someone to take the trio under his wing and mentor them about the dos and don’ts of playing that position in the NBA.

Devin Harris has not only been in the league for well over a decade, he was a part of the Mavs team that went to the Finals back in 2006, affording him a wide array of knowledge any youngster would be lucky to absorb.

The former Wisconsin product should do wonders in that department for however much longer he’s in Dallas, teaching these guys in their early 20s what it takes to run an NBA-level offense, and if these guys have any smarts to them, they’ll listen at any and all times.

He may not have been the most notable player to sign with the Mavericks this past offseason, but Harris will definitely be able to provide value both on and off the court.

Acquiring a former All-Star with an appearance in the NBA Finals is never easy, no matter what stage of their career he’s at.

Harris has both of those accomplishments on his resume, and combined with a game that still manages to be productive on a nightly basis, he will help the Mavericks win now while making sure the team is set up nicely for the future.

Grade: B