Dallas Mavericks Camp Battle: Jonathan Gibson vs. Seth Curry

Few offseasons in recent memory have stirred up as much anticipation and intrigue surrounding the Mavs than this one, thus causing multiple battles coming into camp.

The arrivals of Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut is exciting Mavs fans and even their head coach, Rick Carlisle.

Two of the lesser talked about signings however are quietly battling for backup minutes and even a roster spot for Gibson.  After impressing many in the summer league, Jonathan Gibson may be looking to provide needed guard depth after the departure of Raymond Felton. Gibson’s summer league performance was extremely promising, showing an ability to knock down the three-ball, pass efficiently and run the floor with blazing speed.

Seth Curry is coming off of his best season in his time in the NBA. A capable shooter, Curry will provide a scoring punch off the bench that the Mavs have lacked for years.

Since Jason Terry‘s departure, the Mavs have sorely needed a potent shooter who can space the floor while also running the break. While both Gibson and Curry both have promising futures, there may only be room for one of them on the final roster, or at least only room for one of them to log decent minutes.

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The Mavs already have Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews, Devin Harris, and J.J. Barea splitting minutes at the guard positions. Adding both Gibson and Curry would be a luxury for Rick Carlisle offensively, but realistically, there is only room for one of them in the rotation.

The Mavs will likely have to lean in Curry’s direction. While Gibson’s value to the bench will be missed, Curry’s is simply more important. Curry’s skill set is more developed to this point, and has spent more time playing against other NBA defenders, unlike Gibson.

Rick Carlisle has needed this kind of player for too long. Seth Curry will provide the Mavs with sufficient scoring, decent passing and underrated open-floor skills.

A lineup of Harris, Curry, Barnes, Anderson and Salah Mejri will likely provide the Mavs with a scary offensive second unit that should excite Mavs fans for this coming year.