The Dallas Mavericks have some big storylines to follow heading into the 2023-24 season. Bringing back Kyrie Irving was great, but what about that small sample size that we saw last year? Within the 20 games that he played for the Mavs, they fell out of the playoff picture. Was that a fluke or is Irving a horrible fit in Dallas?
The front office made several moves to bolster the team around Irving and Luka Doncic. They signed some big free agents and made a few trades. The Mavericks had to make some moves that would help propel them to title contenders. Have they done enough?
Key Additions:
The 33-year-old has always been overshadowed by his brother but he has paved his own way in the NBA. He is known as a career 40% three-point shooter. Curry finds himself back with the Dallas Mavericks in the 2023-24 season for his third stint with the team. Despite getting any awards, Curry has done it all. He’s been a starter, he’s been a valuable depth member, been on successful teams and nonsuccessful teams. This time around with the Mavs he’ll be a valuable three-point shooter coming off the bench.
The Mavs acquired a valuable forward through sign-and-trade. A big power forward who can play physically down low is a piece that’s been missing for a couple of seasons. He brings a much-needed defensive versatility. There are still some improvements for him to make on the offensive side but then again he is still just 24.
Mark Cuban went on record to state that the addition of Holmes may be the most ‘underrated transaction‘ by the Mavs. Holmes will battle with Dwight Powell. He’s an eight-year veteran who averaged 14.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 61 starts (2020-21) for Sacramento the season before it traded for All-Star Domantas Sabonis.
Key Losses:
He might not have been the best fit, but Wood is an important piece to keep. With Dallas last season he averaged 16.6 points and 7.3 rebounds. It seems that things didn’t work out between the two sides. The 28-year-old has moved on and is hoping to win a championship with the Lakers.
No matter where he’s played, the former 18th overall pick has always brought a championship pedigree. In the 15 years he’s been in the league he’s been an NBA Champ three times, but he might not be as good now. With the Mavs, he only averaged 4.4 points and 2.5 rebounds.
Projected Roster:
Starting Lineup: Doncic, Irving, Williams, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Dereck Lively III
Cuban and his crew seem committed to the backcourt of Doncic and Irving. We saw a small sample size of what that might look like last season. While the offense looked good the performance definitely didn’t. The Mavericks fell from the fourth seed to the 11 seed within 20 games played together.
Bench: Curry, Powell, Holmes, Maxi Kleber, Tim Hardaway Jr., Markieff Morris, Jaden Hardy, Josh Green, Derrick Jones Jr., Dante Exum
On paper, this looks like a very well-structured bench crew. A balanced group that Jason Kidd will be able to use at his disposal.
Season Outlook:
The results of the Dallas Mavericks 2023-24 seasons all lie in the balance of whether or not the backcourt will actually work. It’s hard to really tell how this team could do but regardless they have a good squad. The Mavericks have the ninth-best odds to win the NBA Championship this season (+2500). I would expect the Mavs to go 46-36 with a 6-seed finish in the regular season.
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