The Dallas Mavericks still have one glaring need

The Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers both made the league-shaking moves of the offseason. Dallas first rocked the rim by acquiring headline-demanding Luka Doncic via trade on draft night. Los Angeles followed by announcing the signing of LeBron James, on July 1, which is an achievement in itself.

Not to be outdone in breaking free agency tradition, the Mavericks were able to have DeAndre Jordan commit past a verbal agreement. Since the culture-changing acquisitions early on in the offseason, both front offices (one more than the other) haven’t necessarily finished strong.

The glaring issue for both teams: not enough shooting.

After the early touchdown celebrations from fans and the Mavericks organization, the adrenaline fades and reality sets in. Not to say the Mavericks will be one of the worst shooting teams in the league, but the lack of jump-shooters isn’t comforting.

Yes, the Mavericks still have Dirk Nowitzki, Wesley Matthews, and J.J. Barea, and theoretically, Yogi Ferell. With that said, Matthews’ future with the franchise is in question. Although Barea’s three-point shooting is far beyond his early seasons, he is not a gunner. Dallas lost two great shooters without filling the voids.

Seth Curry’s whole 2017-2018 season was destroyed by a stress fracture in his left leg. Mavericks fans and NBA fans alike were robbed of the opportunity to witness Curry follow up on an astonishing 2016-2017 campaign.

Curry went from barely getting minutes with the Sacramento Kings, to averaging 29 minutes and starting 42 games with Dallas. Seth Curry and the Portland Trailblazers agreed to a two-year, $5.6 million deal, instantly adding shooting depth to its roster.

His 2016-2017 numbers demand an encore.

Retorts to the aforementioned stats such as “Curry’s a system player” aren’t farfetched. Which make the departure even more of a head-scratcher.  To add insult to injury, Curry took less money to play in Portland. In all fairness, Dallas has a great history of evaluating player injuries. Perhaps the Mavericks training staff saw something discouraging in his medical report.

Losing Curry isn’t beneficial to the team; albeit his exit isn’t as significant as Luka and Jordan’s entrance. The Mavericks need shooting off the bench and Curry would have filled the need. There is still time to fine-tune the roster, though it seems the Mavericks are done with free agency.

Contrary to the stance on Seth Curry’s departure, Dallas staying idle on Doug McDermott was a cost-efficient strategy. Pacers paying him $7.3 million a season for three years is rather steep. Either way, McDermott’s production will be sorely missed.

Next: The Dallas Mavericks are having a good summer

With the relevant NBA free agents either signed or stuck in restricted free agency purgatory, it appears the Mavericks are done making waves this offseason. Hopefully, for the fans and the bench’s sake, the front office can at least make one last splash before the drought of the summer hits.