DALLAS, TX – The Dallas Mavericks have started looking at what they are planning on doing when free agency starts on June 30. The no. 1 goal right now is to re-sign Jalen Brunson.
The Mavericks grabbed two great players in the draft and everyone is very happy with Nico Harrison and his ability to trade the back end of their bench and the 26th overall pick to acquire Center Christian Wood from the Houston Rockets.
The Mavs depth chart is coming together slowly with the exception of a question mark still next to Brunson’s name.
BREAKDOWN OF THE DEPTH CHART:
Guards:
Dallas currently has Luka Doncic, Spencer Dinwiddie, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Frank Ntilikina under contract for the 2022-23 season. Jaden Hardy, the 37th pick in the second round that Dallas snagged for the two future second round picks to the Sacramento Kings, is another solid guard Dallas got in this off season. Hardy’s ability to shoot and create looks for himself will give Doncic another weapon on offense so he isn’t doing it all on his own.
Jalen Brunson and Theo Pinson are the two guards that are currently free agents. The biggest question on this Mavs team right now is if Brunson will return to Dallas for next season. It has been the front office’s main priority to keep Brunson.
General Manager Nico Harrison stated, “Until he tells us he doesn’t want to be here, we’re optimistic. We haven’t heard otherwise… It’s tough to say how set the roster is until you know. Once you know that, you go along with the rest of the plan.”
Brunson has been with the Mavs for four years and his chemistry with Doncic was unmatched during the final games in the NBA Playoffs. It would be in Dallas’s best interest to re-sign Brunson.
When the Mavs finished up their season everyone thought that Brunson returning to Dallas was a done deal. After the draft the New York Knicks made a lot of moves to create a lot of cap space for Brunson. The return of Brunson for next year is now not so certain and everyone is waiting to see where Brunson decides to play next fall.
Brunson has significantly improved his game in the last two years, in the 2020-21 season he averaged 12.6 points per game and in 2021-22 he averaged 16.3 points per game.
Wings:
Dallas currently has Reggie Bullock, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Josh Green. Bullock and Finney-Smith both had good seasons and Head Coach Jason Kidd really leaned on both of them in the playoffs. They both played an average of 38 minutes in each playoff game and both had the responsibility of guarding the opposing team’s best player.
Both are great defensively but the issue right now is after Finney-Smith and Bullock there is no one to rotate in. Yes, the Mavs have Green but Green still has to grow his game before he becomes a threat.
With not a lot of depth at the wing position we could see Tim Hardaway Jr. become a wing player and help out Bullock and Finney-Smith.
Center:
Dallas currently has Christian Wood, Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber, Davis Bertans, and Marcus Bingham. It was clear when the Mavs season came to an end the biggest issue that they had was their presence down low. Dwight Powell was the starting center for Dallas and played a good season. The issues started to show up late in the postseason when he was getting handled in the paint and it affected Dallas’s rebounding and second chance opportunities.
Powell did not produce in the postseason and did not play many minutes. With that information Harrison grabbed Wood in a trade and he will most likely be the starting center for Dallas in the fall. Wood is the obvious choice based on athletic ability and skill set.
Powell will still play minutes as well as Kleber, Kleber likes to shoot the outside three so he is on the outside rim some of the time and when he’s on, he’s on. The Mavs also signed undrafted free agent center Marcus Bingham out of Michigan State to an Exhibit 10 contract on Thursday afternoon.
Davis Bertans will also be in that rotation but Bertans is still trying to find his chemistry with this Dallas team after being traded mid-way through the season from Washington.
The Mavs have made some moves to fulfill their needs for next season. Harrison has done a great job wheeling and dealing without giving up his top eight players. The next line of business is to lock in Brunson by June 30 and then grab a few more guys at the wing and center position to create more depth within those positions to put Dallas in the right place to make another playoff run next season.
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