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Dallas Mavericks: Complete 2018 offseason grades

By Adam Tayabali

f the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
f the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images.
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images. /

Trading pick No. 54 for Ray Spalding and Kostas Antetokounmpo

The Mavericks made another draft-night trade, swapping their No. 54 pick for the Philadelphia 76ers‘ selections at No. 56 and No. 60. They then addressed their lack of depth at center position, selecting big men Ray Spalding and Kostas Antetokounmpo.

Dallas thought it found the answer to its troubles after trading for Nerlens Noel in 2017, but maturity issues kept him from maximizing his potential. The temporary fix during 2018 was to play Nowitzki as a stretch-5.

Although Dwight Powell has steadily improved in the each of his past four seasons with Dallas, the Mavericks are giving themselves more options.

Spalding performed better than Giannis’ little brother at NBA Summer League — with 8.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game — because Antetokounmpo’s game is rawer and younger. Antetokounmpo is also more mobile and draws comparisons to Clint Capela, which could buy him time to develop.

Grade: B

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