Mavericks lose trio of promising youngsters in the worst way possible

This summer, the Dallas Mavericks lost Kai Jones, Kessler Edwards, and Moses Brown to different teams. Edwards and Jones finished the season in Dallas on two-way deals, while Brown left the Mavericks after a 10-day deal in March, and if the Mavericks had roster space, they likely would've brought back at least one of these players.

For a large portion of free agency, the Mavs had 16 players signed to standard contracts, as Dallas brought back Dante Exum before even having room for him. This caused them to waive Olivier-Maxence Prosper to create a roster spot for Exum, but their roster crunch went much further than that.

Jones' natural next step after going on an absolute tear for Dallas at the end of last season would've been to get a standard contract from the Mavs, as he averaged 11.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting an incredible 83.6 percent from the field, but they didn't have a roster spot to offer him.

Mavericks' overloaded roster forced youngsters to pack their bags

He would've been the perfect backup to Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, as he, too, is a great lob threat and brings great energy, but he opted to sign overseas to play in the EuroLeague.

The same could be said about Edwards, as he started in 18 games for Dallas last season and stepped up in some big moments. He averaged 4.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game while shooting a career-high 40.7 percent from downtown, and his improvement as a shooter combined with his strong and versatile defense helped the Mavs prevail through one of the most wild injury stretches in NBA history.

He looked like someone who could be a solid role player in Dallas for years to come, but their roster crunch forced him to head elsewhere as he signed with the Denver Nuggets. Mavericks fans dreamed that he would return, even if it was just to the Texas Legends, after he was spotted at NBA Summer League sitting courtside with many of his former Mavs teammates, but no rumors of a return ever surfaced.

Brown's case was a bit different from Jones and Edwards, as he didn't finish the season with the Mavs, but he clearly deserved a standard contract after his productive four games as a Maverick. He was signed as an emergency option after most of Dallas' other bigs went down with injury, but he looked excellent and much more polished than his first stint with the team back in the 2021-22 season.

In four games, Brown averaged 11.8 points, 7.8 rebounds,1.0 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting an efficient 72.4 percent from the field, and he looked much more comfortable with the ball in his hands and clearly added some strength. His productive stint in Dallas as well as for the Westchester Knicks of the G League helped him net a deal with the Nuggets to reunite with Edwards, and it was a singificant blow when the Mavs couldn't sign him to another 10-day deal after his first one expired.

Bringing back Brown, Jones, and Edwards would've been nearly impossible with the way the roster is currently constructed, as they would have needed to offload multiple players, but a case can definitely be made that at least one of the aforementioned players deserve a roster spot over someone like Dwight Powell or Jaden Hardy.

Hardy was in some trade rumblings earlier this summer, especially when Dallas was trying to create a roster spot for Exum, but they ultimately ended up waiving Prosper instead. The Mavs may be regretting their decision to give Hardy a three-year extension last summer, especially with how much talent was on the open market this summer, and Dallas got stuck not being able to bring back some key players due to their roster being so full.

Jones, Brown, and Edwards all found homes elsewhere, which was a bittersweet moment for some Mavs fans, and bringing at least one of them back rather than seeing them all walk would've turned this summer into even more of a dream offseason for Dallas.