The Dallas Mavericks came into the offseason looking to upgrade their frontcourt. They accomplished that right away by acquiring Christian Wood from the Houston Rockets ahead of the 2022 NBA Draft. Dallas would double down on the center upgrade when they signed JaVale McGee in free agency using a chunk of their mid-level exception.
The center spot was identified as the biggest need following their exit from the postseason in the Western Conference Finals. But, another major hole was created after they fixed that one.
The Mavericks now have a huge need in the backcourt following the departure of Jalen Brunson. Brunson signed a deal with the New York Knicks as a free agent, a move that surprised a lot of people. New York is being investigated for tampering as they cleared a ton of cap space in trades with the Detroit Pistons to have enough money to sign Brunson to his deal.
Regardless of how it transpired, Brunson left Dallas for New York City and the Mavericks now need to figure out how to replace his production. Throughout the postseason he was their second-best player behind Luka Doncic. Whenever Doncic was sidelined, whether it was during the regular season or early in the playoffs, Brunson would step up into the No.1 role.
Replacing someone of that caliber is not easy, especially when you are as shorthanded as the Dallas Mavericks are. Right now, the only ball-handler on the roster beyond Doncic and Spencer Dinwiddie, the projected starting backcourt, is Frank Ntilikina.
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That is something an NBA executive that spoke to NBA Analysis Network believes needs to change. Acquiring a veteran guard should now be their No. 1 goal.
“Dinwiddie is going to start next to Luka, but there’s a hole in that bench backcourt now. … If the plan is for Luka and Dinwiddie to play a ton of minutes and stagger them, there’s still a big risk for that being a problem with injuries. Let’s say Luka rolls his ankle and misses two or three weeks, what happens then? Is Jaden Hardy going to step in and be the answer? I think they need a veteran in there to be that third guard.”
Unfortunately for the Mavericks, it is slim pickings right now. They were capped out and focused on upgrading the frontcourt, leaving them without many options at this point in the backcourt. But, there are still ways for them to accomplish that goal.
“The options aren’t great late in the offseason. Collin Sexton is out there, but the Cavs aren’t a clean trade partner for Dallas. If they could get in the Donovan Mitchell trade mix as a third or fourth team to get a veteran like Mike Conley or Derrick Rose, I’d like that for them.”
The Utah Jazz are looking to move their veterans and it would make a lot of sense for the Dallas Mavericks to try and acquire one. Mike Conley Jr. is an excellent target, along with Patrick Beverley.
If the New York Knicks are willing to move Derrick Rose to complete a blockbuster trade for Donovan Mitchell, the Mavericks getting involved to take on his contract instead of sending it to Utah makes a lot of sense as well.
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