Did the Dallas Mavericks improve this offseason despite losing Jalen Brunson?

The Dallas Mavericks had an up and down 2021-2022 season. Things started slowly as Luka Doncic played his way into shape and the team meshed under new head coach Jason Kidd. They were 17-18 as the calendar flipped to 2022 and were viewed as one of the biggest early disappointers by most. Then, Dallas went on a tear to finish fourth in the West before winning two playoff series to reach the conference finals.

By the end, everyone viewed the season as a success. Nobody predicted the Mavs would be one of the last four teams standing, but Doncic gives them a chance to win every night. The 23-year-old is not satisfied, and the expectations will increase next season after their conference finals run.

The Mavs entered the offseason on a high note, but the work was far from done. They wanted to improve their roster around Luka, re-sign Jalen Brunson, and maintain the flexibility to acquire a star after their 2023 first-round pick heads to New York from the original Kristaps Porzingis trade. Things did not go as planned, but did the Mavericks improve their roster?

Did the Dallas Mavericks improve this offseason despite losing Jalen Brunson?

The Mavs got to work early as they traded four players that were outside their playoff rotation and their 2022 first-round pick to the Rockets for Christian Wood. Dallas drafted Jaden Hardy, used the majority of their mid-level exception to sign JaVale McGee, and brought back Frank Ntilikina and Theo Pinson.

Losing Jalen Brunson to the Knicks was the main talking point, and rightfully so. Brunson blossomed from a second-round pick into the team’s second-best player in the last four years, which made losing him for nothing sting even more.

Despite Brunson signing elsewhere, did the Dallas Mavericks improve their roster this summer?