Nico Harrison's gutsy Mavericks vision was just proven right if new rumors are true

In the flux of the NBA free agency and offseason, teams are always trying to mix and match the most gaudy lineups in preparation for all the other good teams making moves that they'll have to face this upcoming season. The worst teams typically copy the best team's roster-building models in these instances, though that may not necessarily be the case with the Dallas Mavericks this offseason.

Dallas missed the playoffs and finished 39-43 last season after their season spiraled out of control following the Luka Doncic trade, but recent rumors and trends across the league would indicate the Mavericks are a team that other West teams are trying to gear up against, even though the Oklahoma City Thunder are the incumbent champions in the league and there are certainly other West teams with arguably better rosters than Dallas.

This rumor was first postulated by DLLS Mavs Podcast host Kevin Gray Jr., as Gray Jr. posted on X that a league source told him opposing Western Conference teams have been adding as much frontcourt size as they can in an effort to combat the Mavericks' playstyle, not the Thunder's or anyone else in the West.

Other teams are copying Harrison and Kidd's double-big vision

Back in February, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison talked about how the Cleveland Cavaliers have seen success playing double-big lineups with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, and head coach Jason Kidd compared Dallas' athleticism and size to the Cavs in a radio interview a couple weeks ago, so it's clear this is the Mavericks' vision for their massive personnel next season.

While there aren't as many teams in the East trying to replicate the Cavs or Mavs' play-style, teams within Dallas' own division have been gearing up handily for the Mavericks if one just analyzes some of their free agency moves. Both the San Antonio Spurs and, particularly the Houston Rockets, already had teams with versatile bigger-bodied wings and solid center depth, but they've added to that immensely this offseason.

The Spurs signed Luke Kornet as a backup big man, and Houston re-signed Steven Adams and brought in former Rocket Clint Capela to be their third-string big man, so there's clearly going to be a lot of bumping and bruising going on in the paint in the Southwest Division next season.

Given Dallas's lack of success last season, Harrison and Kidd should be thrilled if other teams are trying to replicate the Mavericks' approach, as a team would always rather be in the position of other teams trying to catch up to their personnel and play style rather than not. The West is absolutely loaded next season, and even the Denver Nuggets quietly addressed their backup center position by trading for Lithuanian center Jonas Valanciunas, and the Phoenix Suns loaded up on bigs during the draft, so it's readily apparent teams are gearing up to play big, but still versatile as well next season.

All that being said, it's still hard to deny that Dallas' trio of Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, and Daniel Gafford isn't the best big man trio across any roster in the entire league when they are all fully healthy. Health is a big reason other teams may be making this shift, too, though, as teams don't want to be handicapped if one of their only playable bigs goes down with an injury right before or during the playoffs.

The Mavericks will certainly have some fun matchups against all these teams with stacked front-court depth, and it's encouraging other teams are trying to match Dallas' personnel, but this undoubtedly makes Dallas' road to success next season a little tougher and they'll have to trust their array of frontcourt depth is better than any other team's on a given night.