Dallas Mavericks: Complete grades for the 2019 NBA offseason
By Phil Watson
Sign-and-trade for Delon Wright
The Dallas Mavericks had a big hole at the point guard spot entering the offseason and filled it by completing a sign-and-trade with the Memphis Grizzlies to get free agent Delon Wright.
Wright, a former first-round pick of the Toronto Raptors who missed out on the championship parade when he was part of the package sent to the Grizzlies that sent Marc Gasol to Toronto, signed a three-year, $27 million deal that will have a decreasing cap hit each season.
Wright will make $9.47 million this season, $9 million in 2020-21 and $8.53 million in the final season, 2021-22.
Given that the Mavericks will run most of their offense through Luka Doncic, Dallas did not need to bring in a ball-dominant player at the 1 — remember the struggles Doncic and Dennis Smith Jr. had co-existing — and Wright fits that mold.
He got the first big minutes of his career after the trade, starting 11 of the 26 games in which he appeared for the Grizzlies and averaging 12.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.6 steals in 30.8 minutes per game on 43.4 percent shooting overall.
But he hit just 25.6 percent on 3.0 deep tries per game and for his career he’s only a 33.2 percent marksman from deep.
Wright brings two important qualities Dallas needs in a point guard — he’s a strong defender and he can play off the ball. With Doncic running the show, that’s an important factor.
Wright — a big point guard at 6-foot-5 even with an average wingspan of 6-foot-6½ — has averaged a steal a game in just 19.2 minutes per, so he’s got active hands.
But his 3-point shooting has been up-and-down and trending downward; he dipped from 36.6 percent on 2.2 attempts per game in 2017-18 with the Raptors to just 29.8 percent on the same volume between Toronto and Memphis last season.
He’s also entering his age-27 season and has never been a full-time starter, so this is another move that prompts as many questions as it answers.