Mavericks depth on wings still major concern

Mavericks could use more depth behind wounded wings

It’s obvious that the Dallas Mavericks did everything (i.e. signed everyone) possible to fill needs at center and at the backup power forward spot. It’s to be seen how reliable those options are, but at least the team brought in bodies to compete.

The same can’t really be said about the wing position, which currently consists of two starters coming off of serious injuries (Wesley Matthews and Chandler Parsons), an injury prone combo-guard (Devin Harris), a third-year player who hasn’t yet played a major role (John Jenkins), and a rookie (Justin Anderson), who though promising is still a question mark.

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While the team can go small with J.J. Barea and Raymond Felton playing off the ball at the shooting guard and even, gulp, small forward spot, that should be a last resort option.

Back to Parsons and Matthews. There is no set date for when they’ll be back and even close to 100%. Which will leave the Mavs in a bind, especially early on in the season.

If both were to miss the start of the season, Harris, Anderson, and Jenkins would compete for the two starting spots, with the third taking up majority (all?) of the backup minutes.

To make matters worse, the free agent options are slim.

J.R. Smith is out there. But is he a player Rick Carlisle wants to bring in? Mike Miller, Jason Richardson, and Ben Gordon are available, but how much do they have left in the tank?

Landry Fields and Dorell Wright are still serviceable names on the market. While Fields hasn’t done much since joining the Toronto Raptors, a more defined role and lowered expectations may make him a decent player. And Wright may be best used as a small four, which can also be said for Jeremy Evans and Maurice Ndour. Evans and Ndour aren’t even locks to make the roster, too.

No matter what the Mavs do or don’t do to address the issue, the team will need their two starters to come back early and strong, and for role players to play above expectations.

If not, we could be hoping for someone like O.J. Mayo to come back and save the day.

Ugh….

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