Mavericks' Jett Howard move ignores a problem that doomed them last season

After trading Ryan Nembhard for Zaccharie Risacher over the weekend, the Dallas Mavericks created an even bigger need in their backcourt. Dallas' point guard depth was already thin before trading Nembhard, and they now only have Sergio De Larrea, Kyrie Irving, and Marcus Sasser at the position.

The team had the chance to add a guard to bolster their backcourt after waiving Tyler Smith and creating a roster spot on Monday, but they signed 6-foot-8 forward Jett Howard instead. Dallas' point guard problem is still there, with few avenues left to fix it.

Mavericks ignored their guard depth problem after signing Howard

By the time opening night rolls around, Irving will not have played in an NBA game in over a year and a half. De Larrea remains unproven, as he is a rookie who has never played in an NBA game. Sasser is coming off a season in which he played a career-low 12.0 minutes per game, and his score-first mentality makes him more of a combo guard than a true point guard.

The Mavericks are putting a lot of pressure on Irving to carry the load on offense, and rather than fixing their imbalanced roster by adding a point guard, the team added another wing. Dallas signed Howard to a two-way contract on Monday night, and their point guard issue still lingers with the regular season approaching fast.

Dallas can't risk having a repeat of last season

After watching how poor Dallas' guard play was last season, it seems like they would be more intentional about fixing this problem rather than doubling down on frontcourt depth. Former Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison made the same gamble last season, as he believed Dallas' interior size would make up for their lack of playmaking and shooting.

The Mavericks only had Nembhard, Brandon Williams, and D'Angelo Russell as their point guards to begin the season, and this was nowhere near enough depth. Irving's absence stung much more than imagined.

The Mavs' bet on size over playmaking couldn't have worked out worse for Dallas, as they were one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA. They lost 50+ games for the first time since the 2017-18 season, and Harrison was fired after just 11 games.

The Mavericks don't have a shooting problem anymore, as they've brought in several high-level shooters this offseason who should give Cooper Flagg the space he needs to operate. Howard is part of that conversation, as the former Michigan Wolverine shot 37.2 percent from three last season. He is an excellent shooter off the catch, and swapping Smith out for Howard gives them a player who specializes in shooting.

The Mavericks' roster imbalance is impossible to ignore

Masai Ujiri has been extremely intentional about adding more shooting, but he hasn't been as focused on adding guard depth. Of all of Dallas' new additions this offseason, every single player has been 6-foot-6 or taller outside of Sasser. They've added countless forwards, including Risacher, Tobi Lawal, Tarik Biberovic, and Morez Johnson Jr., but just two guards in De Larrea and Sasser.

Rather than addressing their need for more guard depth by signing a point guard to the open two-way spot that was created by waiving Smith, Dallas added another forward who's going to have an uphill battle to receive real playing time. Adding a playmaking guard here would've at least given the player a chance to crack the rotation, and Dallas' need for more playmaking and shot creation looks like an even bigger issue after trading Nembhard for a wing and signing another forward a day later.

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