Dallas Mavericks: Why they should get in on the James Harden sweepstakes

The Dallas Mavericks would have a long championship window with James Harden

The Mavericks championship window starting right now with no time to waste wouldn’t inherently be a bad thing because Harden boosts their chances at competing for it. Unless Dallas sees Porzingis (or someone else) becoming a big-time player or they think they have a great shot and landing a star free agent next offseason, bringing in Harden is the best way for Dallas to improve its team.

But is it a good idea to pair two players who dominate the ball? See the answer to the last question.

Although there will be chemistry to figure out and rhythms to adjust, Harden and Doncic would torment opposing defenses with their crafty scoring and snappy playmaking. Teaming up Harden with players like this has produced impressive results.

Concerns circled around the Rockets when they paired Chris Paul with Harden in 2017, suggesting that the two star guards were too ball-dominant to work together. The next season, Houston won 65 games, the most in the league, and posted a 114.7 offensive rating, the best in the league and one of the best marks in history.

Doncic and Paul are only alike in that they are both brilliant passers. Paul is a more efficient perimeter shooter and defender and Doncic is a better scorer and overall player than Paul was at that point in his career.

The Harden-Paul tandem never helped Houston reach a championship because of Paul’s injuries and Harden’s preference for Russell Westbrook. The Harden-Westbrook tandem suffered a gentleman’s sweep at the hands of the title-winning Los Angles Lakers in the second round this past postseason but Doncic doesn’t shrink the floor like Westbrook does since he’s equipped with otherworldy perimeter shotmaking skills. He was a supreme playoff performer in the 2020 playoffs.