Mavericks must end their point guard curse before it costs their hidden gem

The Mavericks can't play with their food when it comes to Brandon Williams this summer.

Will Miller

Dallas Mavericks, Brandon Williams / Glenn James/GettyImages

January has undoubtedly been Brandon Williams' best month of the season for the Dallas Mavericks, as the 26-year-old guard is proving why they can't let him walk in free agency this summer, as they have with other talented point guards in recent memory. Williams recently took over the mantle as Dallas' starting point guard over Ryan Nembhard once again, and deservingly so, as he's been uber-efficient attacking the rim ever since Christmas Day.

In January, Williams is averaging 15.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and a steal per game with shooting splits of 53.9/25.0/71.9. After getting converted to a standard deal last season after being on a two-way contract for parts of two seasons with the Mavs, Williams has continued to solidify his spot as a rotation-caliber guard in the NBA, especially with the control he's displayed in the halfcourt recently.

Williams' efficiency was a bit shaky to start the season, especially since he'd never been a starting point guard in the league for a consistent stretch. However, he's been getting to his in-between game and setting up others better than he has all season recently, as this could be the evolution of him honing his speed and quickness to be more efficient and less frantic in the half-court.

Mavs can't repeat their point guard free agency disaster again

Williams still isn't a true three-level scoring threat every night, as he's still shooting a meager 19.6 percent from outside on the season, but he has a pure stroke and has been getting more shots to convert recently, so there's definitely still some hope he could become a 30-35 percent 3-point shooter in the coming seasons.

Kyrie Irving is undoubtedly Dallas' No. 1 guard when healthy, but at almost 34 years old, Irving won't be leading the brigade forever, so Dallas needs to prioritize nailing Williams down on a multi-year deal this summer if they're able to financially, as he could be Irving's successor as Dallas' main starting point guard down the road.

Of course, Williams hasn't shown nearly as much as Jalen Brunson or Steve Nash did in Dallas once upon a time, but the Mavericks have a terrible track record of letting talented point guards walk away for nothing in free agency, and this can't be the case with Williams. Dallas will have to make a deadline move to have the financial leniency to sign Williams this summer, in all likelihood, as he's playing himself above a minimum deal, but they can't let him slip through the cracks.

Nembhard's ascension is noteworthy, and he could eclipse Williams eventually, but that is far from a guarantee right now, especially with Nembhard's height being a crutch for him defensively as well as his ability to get to the rim consistently. Dallas would be smart to get both Williams and Nembhard on board for next season, as they've both proven to be talented enough to potentially be the next point guard of this team once Irving steps down, and they're extremely valuable back-ups in the meantime.

Will Miller

Will Miller is a senior contributor and is in his second year with The Smoking Cuban. Will has been following the Dallas Mavericks for over a decade and is currently working on getting a Bachelors in Science in Sports Journalism from the University of North Texas, as he is also covering sports for the North Texas TV station. While Will is opening up his coverage to cover other sports for UNT, basketball and the Dallas Mavericks are his true passion and he hopes to continue writing and producing Mavericks related content as his career continues. Will has very solid in-game analysis and knowledge about the intricacies of the game, and has a very broad understanding about the NBA as a whole. Going forward Will is looking to be more expansive in his coverage of the Mavericks beyond writing as well. Outside of writing about the Mavericks, Will enjoys hanging with friends, going to the gym, and watching other sports and live events.