5 Dallas Mavericks players whose stock has crashed this preseason

The Dallas Mavericks only have one more preseason game before the start of the regular season, and a handful of Mavs players have shown plenty of promise when discussing their potential impacts for the upcoming season.

Despite Luka Doncic not playing yet, Mavs fans are already starting to imagine what Jason Kidd's rotation will look like beginning on October 24. Dereck Lively II is playing great, and Jaden Hardy is proving that he deserves to be one of the first guards off the bench next season.

Despite all of this, the Mavs haven't had the best play from some of their guys as well.

5 Dallas Mavericks players whose stock has crashed this preseason

Some Mavericks have been disappointing when it comes to their performances in these first three preseason games, and they aren't doing themselves any favors when it comes to fighting for a roster spot or proving they deserve consistent minutes in the rotation.

While it is just preseason, some Mavericks' stocks have nosedived over the last week and a half.

5. Brandon Williams

The story of the preseason for the Mavs has been the rise of Jazian Gortman. The Mavs signed Gortman to a training camp deal earlier in the summer, but he has quickly proved that he deserves at least a spot on Dallas's 18-man roster as a two-way guy.

Some fans speculated that the Mavs would sign Gortman to the originally available two-way spot after they momentarily waived A.J. Lawson, but now that Lawson is back on the team, the Mavs could consider waiving Brandon Williams if they felt inclined to give Gortman a two-way deal.

Williams was on a two-way deal with the Mavs for most of last season, and Gortman has considerably outplayed him over the first few preseason games. It is worth noting that Williams missed the first two preseason games with injury, but he wasn't impressive in his preseason debut against the LA Clippers on Monday night to begin with.

Williams finished with nine points on 3-10 shooting from the field, and while he converted three of his five 3-point attempts, he missed all five of his attempts inside the arc. He displayed his three-level scoring often for the Texas Legends last season, but it seems like Gortman has more of a path to receive minutes on this team than Williams.

Gortman's pesky defense, good finishing, and high-level shotmaking thus far have made him a fan favorite in Dallas, and this is more about Gortman excelling than Williams struggling.

This isn't to say that the Mavs couldn't find a way to keep both Williams and Gortman, but Williams didn't flash much outside of his shooting in his one preseason appearance.

4. A.J. Lawson

When considering that A.J. Lawson went from being on the 15-man roster to being on a two-way deal this training camp, it's undeniable that his stock has lowered some. Cutting Lawson and bringing him back on a two-way deal was a speculated move by many after the team re-signed Markieff Morris, but Lawson hasn't shown much in the preseason so far.

Lawson is averaging 5.0 points per game over the two preseason games that he played in while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 25 percent from downtown, and he didn't touch the floor in Dallas' loss to the Clippers on Monday night.

While the Mavs could end up cutting Brandon Williams to make room for Jazian Gortman, Lawson shouldn't be left out of this conversation either. As things look right now, it doesn't look like there is a path for him to get real minutes for the Mavs any time soon, and their guard depth is more of a concern than wing depth right now.

With Dante Exum out after having wrist surgery, the Mavs could elect to keep both Gortman and Williams over Lawson.

Lawson has more on-court experience in the NBA than both Williams and Gortman, but his play in both of the two preseason games he played in hasn't been so strong to the point to make his roster spot untouchable.

His athleticism and energy are always going to be there, but the up-and-down 3-point jumper hasn't been fully reliable during his time in Dallas.

3. Maxi Kleber

Maxi Kleber has not played a preseason game yet, but the fact that he is missing more time with a different injury only plummets his stock even more than it did last season and playoffs. Kleber remains a great role player when healthy for the Mavs, but that has been his biggest struggle over the last few seasons.

Kleber just can't stay healthy, and it's only seeming to get worse after he suffered an ankle sprain during training camp.

With another injury getting added on top of Kleber's lengthy injury history, his value will only go down. He is entering the second year of his three-year, $33 million contract, and potentially starting the year on the bench is not ideal for either side.

Last season for Dallas, Kleber averaged 4.4 points per game while shooting 34.8 percent from downtown. This was a down year for Kleber and it was derailed by injuries as he only played in 43 games.

The injury concern briefly disappeared in last season's playoffs as he shot the ball extremely well against the LA Clippers, but a shoulder injury kept him out until the end of the Western Conference Finals. Once he returned, he seemed to have no confidence in his jumper because of his shoulder and didn't make much of an offensive impact.

Kleber being injured right now could quietly make a big impact due to the Mavs' lack of depth at power forward, and his impact is bigger than most fans realize.

2. Klay Thompson

Even after Klay Thompson had a good debut for the Mavs as he dropped 10 points and played excellent defense, his preseason stock has to drop some after his performance against the Clippers on Monday night. He finished with zero points and four turnovers while shooting 0-9 from the field and 0-6 from downtown, and he couldn't get anything going.

While some of his shots were forced and not within the flow of the offense, he made a few careless turnovers and seemed unplugged when it came to how the game was going. It doesn't help that both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving were out, but his game was rough, to say the least.

Considering that most of Thompson's game is going to be based on him hitting open looks created by Doncic and Irving, Monday night's game should only be slightly concerning. He wasn't really getting any open looks and didn't seem comfortable out there.

Even with that being said, Thompson has to be better than that.

The offense will look much different when Thompson is sharing the floor with Doncic and Irving, and he should be just fine once he gets into the swing of things. It must be remembered that Thompson hasn't played a regular season game for any team outside the Golden State Warriors, and his fit in Dallas may take some time.

He has the shooting touch to be the perfect fit in Dallas, but his inside-the-arc scoring must improve over the next few months. Jason Kidd said that Thompson even passed up some shots they wanted him to take after his first preseason game, and he missed some shots that he probably should have hit.

1. Spencer Dinwiddie

Dallas's last big move of free agency was signing Spencer Dinwiddie to a one-year deal, and over the first three games, he has really struggled. Dinwiddie is averaging 5.7 points per game while shooting 26.3 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from downtown.

His 3-point shot is looking promising, but everything else within his game seems to be lacking. He hasn't been able to get to his spots and leave a mark on the game offensively, and he hasn't shown that he can be a trusted ball handler off the Mavs' bench.

He isn't playing fearlessly as he did during his first stint with the team, and it's been obvious for a few years that he isn't the same player that he once was. Jaden Hardy has outplayed him by a big margin, and Dinwiddie must improve as Dante Exum will be out for the next few months with a wrist injury.

Considering the excitement that surrounded the Dinwiddie signing over the summer, he may be the biggest stock-faller on the team heading into Thursday night's preseason finale against the Bucks. He hasn't brought the necessary skills for Jason Kidd to confidently trust him as the team's third ball handler off the bench, and he has been extremely inefficient when attacking the rim and trying to score inside the arc.

Just like Thompson, Dinwiddie's performances should improve with the addition of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving into the lineup as he thrives off being a secondary creator, but there has to be some level of concern among fans after watching his first three games of the preseason.