Dallas Mavericks: Ryan Broekhoff could be a role player next season

The Dallas Mavericks will have the fun task of trying to fill out a roster next season while also playing the difficult game of which players get how much. Ryan Broekhoff has proven that he can be a good role player for a good price.

There is a chance that it’s too early to tell, but Ryan Broekhoff has made a serious case for a roster spot over the past few weeks. Since the start of 2019, Broekhoff has been a more utilized player in Rick Carlisle‘s offense for the Dallas Mavericks, averaging 13.2 minutes per game in the 20 games he has played in. He is averaging 5.4 points per game in that stretch.

Now, 13 minutes and 5 points does not really seem like a significant role player in today’s NBA, but Broekhoff’s specialty and hustle make him a very unique role player that would fit well with the rest of the Mavericks roster makeup.

Let’s breakdown the Mavs roster going into next season.

As of right now, there are five current Mavs players who will have guaranteed money next year: Tim Hardaway Jr. ($18.15 mil), Courtney Lee ($12.8 mil), Luka Doncic ($7.7 mil), Justin Jackson ($3.3 mil) and Jalen Brunson ($1.5 mil). Aside from that, Dwight Powell has a player option on the upcoming season for a little over $10 mil.

That means at most the Mavericks are looking at around $53 million on the books right now with multiple roster spots to be filled. Dallas technically has Broekhoff under contract through next season, but the $1.5 million is non-guaranteed. I believe Dallas should be prepared to pay him that money.

Dallas is going to be a big player in free agency. They will be searching high and low for another star to add next to Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. With a contract on the books for Broekhoff, the team will get to have a little bit of wiggle room before letting him know the future plans. If they can capitalize on another star, Broekhoff’s small contract makes a lot of sense.

The money talks are going to be important, but that is not the focus here. In reality, Ryan Broekhoff should be considered a roster piece going forward regardless of situation because he can absolutely shoot the lights out of the gym. Over the past two months, Broekhoff’s shooting percentages have been 49.2% FG, 49% 3P and 85.7% FT. Those numbers, especially the three-point percentage, are unreal.

If he had enough attempts for the season so far, his overall three-point percentage for the year, which doesn’t really portray his actual shooting ability in my opinion, would still be top-15 in the league. Aside from that, he is a great hustle player and he knows how to get open and where his spots are to best utilize the strengths of his passers.

Ryan Broekhoff is not going to be a star for this team, but he has a great chance of being in the rotation. I am fully onboard with keeping him for another year as we see his shot get better and better.