Dallas Mavericks: Is the Point Guard Carousel Coming to an End?

The Dallas Mavericks have been in a constant fight to find players that can get them back to playoff caliber, going through players year by year. One of the most short-lived positions the Mavs have worked with is at point guard.

The Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Championship after the 2010-11 season. In the years since that wonderful season, the Mavs have been unable to keep the service of a point guard for very long. In fact, only one starter has stayed with the team for more than a season.

Let’s take a look back over the previous 6 seasons in which Dallas has been unable to keep players around.

2011-12 was the final year of the Jason Kidd era before he went on to retire with the New York Knicks. It was one of the toughest years of his career and a major reason for his retirement after the following season. Even though the Mavericks loved Kidd, it was time for something new.

In 2012-13, the Dallas Mavericks tried a little too much new with a complete overhaul of the roster around Dirk Nowitzki. With Shawn Marion the only remaining support cast member from the title team, the Dallas Mavericks found a short-term deal with Darren Collison who had a decent year. However, the Mavs were unable to qualify for the playoffs which was a deal breaker.

Dallas Mavericks

Next was the Jose Calderon era for the 2013-14 season. Calderon was another short term filler as the Mavs looked for a better solution but, despite his defensive woes, Calderon did pretty well with Dallas. Calderon shot the three at a near career percentage and scored the ball incredibly well. Still, the Mavs decided to move on.

In 2014-15, the Mavs split the season between Jameer Nelson and Rajon Rondo. Despite starting off the season really well, the Mavs felt that Nelson was not a starting caliber point guard and made a blockbuster trade to bring in Rondo. That was a disaster and the Mavs let him walk.

For the next season and a half, the Dallas Mavericks started former All-Star, Deron Williams who played pretty well but just never really found his role with the Mavs. Although he had some real shining moments, everyone was pretty well ready to see him go.

After we let D-Will leave for nothing, the Mavericks started an undrafted rookie in Yogi Ferrell. Yogi was an instant boost of energy and aggression and the fans love him, but he is not going to be a long-term starter and the Mavs have made that clear. That brings us to today.

The Dallas Mavericks now have to go out and find a point guard that will hopefully last longer than a season with the team. Stability is very important in the NBA and maybe the most important at the point guard position. If Dallas can find the right player, it could turn the team around quickly and help find a way back to the playoffs.

The first and most likely option for Dallas to find a new PG is through the 2017 NBA Draft. There are 5 point guards in the top of the draft that all have their strengths and weaknesses. The top 3 are unlikely to find their way to Dallas as they are expected to be top 6 picks before the Mavs get to choose.

After Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball, and De’Aaron Fox, the Mavs will likely only have an either/or choice of whoever is left between Frank Ntilikina and Dennis Smith Jr., both of which have been talked about as possible Mavs. Neither is a perfect option but it just depends on what is most important for Dallas.

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I personally would like to see Ntilikina drop to Dallas but, if we do go with a point guard in the draft, neither is really a bad option.

Then there is free agency. The NBA free agent market is maybe as big as it has ever been this summer and there are a lot of point guards that Dallas could target. There will definitely be trade options but that is a completely different monster to tackle so we will stick with free agents here.

Some of the bigger name free agent point guards this summer include Chris Paul, Jrue Holiday, George Hill, and Kyle Lowry, while smaller names to target could be Jeff Teague or Patty Mills. The only name that really jumps out of that list is one that has already been linked with the Dallas Mavericks, Jrue Holiday.

Holiday had a great season this year with the New Orleans Pelicans but his injury history is significant and worrisome. The Pels have already said that they will focus on bringing him back but the Mavs medical staff will be an enticing offer for the point guard. Holiday could be a great improvement but I don’t expect to see him in a Mavs uniform next season.

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Obviously there will be more options for the Mavs between draft day trades, free agency trades, and other methods, but the main names to keep an eye out for seem to be Ntilikina, Smith Jr., and Holiday. Who will the Mavs end up with? Only time will tell.