Over the next 10 weeks, CBS Sports' Eye On Basketball will take a team-by-team look at the 2015 NBA offseason. We continue with the Dallas Mavericks.
Mark Cuban and Chandler Parsons valiantly tried to rebuild the Mavericks this summer by trying to woo DeAndre Jordan to join them. They almost succeeded, but after Jordan spurned them and returned to the Clippers, the Mavs are now embarking on a different path. Jordan alone wouldn't have made them a contender. However, he would’ve been a pretty big stepping stone to a future not stuck in mediocrity. The Mavs are now heading into next season in a strange sort of stasis between who they've been for so long and who they are realistically becoming -- though at the least they should still be entertaining.
Key Additions
Justin Anderson (drafted 21st overall), Wesley Matthews (free agent), Zaza Pachulia (trade), Deron Williams (free agent), Samuel Dalembert (free agent)
Key Losses
Tyson Chandler (Suns), Monta Ellis (Pacers), Rajon Rondo (Kings), Richard Jefferson (Cavs), Al-Farouq Aminu (Blazers)
Did the Mavs actually get much worse, or did the West just get better? The West, somehow, got even stronger and deeper, and the Mavs simply did not keep up. They replaced the productive-yet-moody Monta Ellis with Wesley Matthews, who is recovering from an Achilles' tendon injury. They ended the failed Rajon Rondo experiment and replaced him with injury prone ex-All-Star Deron Williams. And after being rebuffed by DeAndre Jordan to replace Tyson Chandler, Dallas went out and acquired Zaza Pachulia to hold down the center position in tandem with free agent Samuel Dalembert.
These are all serviceable moves, but in the loaded West, they will likely do nothing more than allow Dallas to tread water.
Williams, for what it's worth, could excel back in his hometown of Dallas and far from the spotlight of New York. He was a reliable point guard for the Nets, although he never became the leader the team needed him to be. Williams is on the tail end of his career, and while he could play well in Rick Carlisle’s system -- especially since his ability to shoot from long range should help space the Mavs’ offense -- he will probably never approximate his former All-Star status.
Matthews is the more intriguing addition as his status is a big question mark. Dallas invested a lot of money in Matthews, despite the fact he is returning from a devastating injury and may never be the same player. Right now, there are just too many questions about Matthews, beginning with if he'll even be ready to play at the start of the season. The one thing going for both the Mavs and Matthews is that he is an extremely hard worker, and by all accounts is proceeding ahead of schedule with his rehab.
Dallas finished last season 50-32, which placed them seventh in the West. It's hard to see the Mavs duplicating that number of wins this season, especially since the Matthews' status is uncertain, Chandler Parsons is returning from a knee injury of his own and Dirk Nowitzki can’t shoulder the scoring burden by himself. That is why the loss of Ellis (for offense) and Chandler (for defense) could be the undoing of Dallas this season.
What are the biggest holes Dallas left unfilled? Youth and depth. The Mavericks actually somewhat addressed these issues in June’s NBA Draft by selecting Justin Anderson late in the first round. Year after year, the Mavs would either trade away a draft pick or select a project player, and although it is very early, Anderson looks to be the best pick Dallas has made since they selected Josh Howard in 2003. If all goes well, Anderson should develop into a reliable role player off the bench for the Mavs. Yet he is just one player, and Dallas needs to start thinking about its future, especially with Nowitizki’s career winding down.
The signing of Chandler Parsons last summer signaled a move post-Nowitzki, but besides he and Anderson, the Mavs don’t have a lot of youth to develop. Also, while Parsons is a great player, he hasn’t shown signs of becoming a superstar player to build around. Even the signing of Matthews can be viewed as a short-term acquisition since he is 28, and his injury could put him past his prime. Also, the Mavs' bench is just a mish-mosh of solid veterans, the majority of which are on short-term deals, which is both good and bad. The good: The Mavs will have salary cap space in the future to build their roster. The bad: The Mavs aren’t developing anyone.
Is Dallas still a playoff team in the West? Probably not, but if another superstar goes down in the West -- like what happened with the Thunder last season -- the Mavs could slip in. Of course that is a big if.
Perhaps this is the year the Mavs just mail it in, which could be disappointing for fans to see especially with Nowitizki’s twilight right around the corner. But realistically what else can they do? They won’t make any drastic trades that will signal a rebuild. Cuban is determined to always field a competitive team, but he has the Mavs stuck in a similar situation that the Milwaukee Bucks found themselves in a couple seasons ago, which is to say mediocre with no real future.
The Bucks were able to rebuild quickly on the fly, thanks to a combination of lottery picks and free agency. Unfortunately for the Mavs, even if they don’t make it into the playoffs, their 2016 pick was traded to the Boston Celtics. It is a top-seven protected pick so there is a chance the Mavs could still keep it, but that mainly depends on how their season plays out.
It is hard to envision the Mavs making the playoffs next season in the loaded West. However, there should be no doubt that Rick Carlisle will keep them competitive. Not much to hang your hat on, but it's something.
