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

Dallas Mavericks improved their depth and upgraded their rotation this offseason

The Mavs cleared the backend of their roster this offseason and used it to upgrade their playoff rotation. In their run to the conference finals, head coach Jason Kidd played seven players in all 18 games and ran a nine-person rotation. Luka Doncic and Frank Ntilikina missed time with injury or they would have likely played in every postseason game.

Of the nine people in the Mavs playoff rotation, they still have eight with Jalen Brunson being the only departure. It is a massive loss as JB averaged 34.9 minutes per game in the postseason, and he scored over 21 points each night.

The Mavericks added Christian Wood, JaVale McGee, and Jaden Hardy so far this summer. Tim Hardaway Jr. will also be returning from injury. Assuming Wood, McGee, and THJ are all part of the team’s playoff rotation, they are a much deeper team this year.

Looking at The Atheltic's player tiers (subscription required), Brunson ranked in tier 4A, which was players 41 to 59. That is a significant loss, and JB was joined in that tier by Dorian Finney-Smith as the Mavericks' second and third-best players. Spencer Dinwiddie and Maxi Kleber both appeared in tier 5A to give the 2023 Mavericks four players in the top 125.

Looking further, Christian Wood and Tim Hardaway Jr. were both on the list in 2022 before dropping off, including Wood bypassing tier 5 and residing in tier 4B. Assuming, Wood and THJ are healthy and return to form playing off Luka, the Mavericks could have six players on the list by the end of the season.