Dallas Mavericks Adopting New Style of Management

The Mavericks have traditionally been a team only interested in free agency and trades, but they have begun to show interest in developing their team the old fashioned way.

For two decades, the Dallas Mavericks have developed a reputation for being one of the NBA’s most aggressive franchises when it comes to pursuing high-priced free agents.

The Mavericks have made countless offers to free agents that are among the market’s most expensive. This year however, the Mavericks have finally been more patient and simply given their coaching staff time to develop their players the way they need to.

Young studs like Harrison Barnes and Nerlens Noel have extremely high ceilings and should be both retained over the long-term. The Mavs have finally seemed to prioritize their younger stars rather than put all their chips into the middle of the table with the hopes of teaming up one of those stars with Dirk Nowitzki.

The Mavericks have been notorious for ignoring the draft and prioritizing free agency. Finally, this year, they did the opposite. In position to add a young star, Dallas picked up Dennis Smith Jr., who has Russell Westbrook type potential. The athletic, offensively gifted point guard is the best long-term answer the team has had at the position since Jason Kidd.

This is a step in the right direction for a Mavericks team that needs to get younger, healthier, and in a better position for long-term success. Up to last season, the Mavericks simply had not added enough young assets to develop over time and give the team long-term answers.

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Past free agent signings such as Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, and Monta Ellis have deprived the team of adding important assets. The Mavs’ obsession with adding proven talent has kept them competitive for the last fifteen years, but as Dirk Nowitzki’s career comes to an end, they are correctly recognizing that they are in no position to compete for a championship any time soon.

The Mavericks should be rooting for Western Conference contenders to copy the Mavs’ previous approach. Teams like the Rockets, Clippers, and Jazz are all looking to add several necessary pieces to make the Warriors sweat come playoff time.

In the event that those teams look to make trades for aging stars such as Carmelo Anthony, the Mavericks should be happy that teams at the top of the Western Conference are sacrificing their future assets, likely meaning they will be worse once the Mavericks are ready to make a playoff push.

Next: An Open Letter to Nerlens Noel

The Mavs have done a great job of assembling young talent over the past two seasons. Harrison Barnes, Dennis Smith Jr., Nerlens Noel, Yogi Ferrell, and Seth Curry is enough youth to put this team in position to become among the league’s most exciting young team’s in just a few years time.