Mavericks' No. 1 offseason priority was a failure before it even started

The Dallas Mavericks entered this offseason coming off of one of the most impressive playoff runs in franchise history.

After missing the playoffs in the season prior, Dallas made a playoff run all the way to the NBA Finals in the 2024 NBA Playoffs and shocked everyone. No one expected the No. 5 seeded Mavericks to make the Finals, and Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving's excellence combined with great play from those around them propelled them into June.

The midseason trades for Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington both stood out, as they gave them a huge boost on both ends of the floor, and several of their offseason acquisitions made big impacts as well.

Mavericks didn't expect to re-sign Derrick Jones Jr. during playoffs

One of the Mavs' biggest moves from last summer was inking Derrick Jones Jr. to a one-year deal, and he was excellent in the playoffs. Jones Jr. was phenomenal on both ends of the floor all season long, and re-signing Jones Jr. was reportedly the team's biggest offseason priority according to Nico Harrison.

Jones Jr. ended up signing with the Clippers while the Mavs signed Naji Marshall as his replacement, but Dallas' biggest offseason priority could have been a failure before the offseason even ended.

On an episode of Inside the Mavs, Mavs insider Tim Cato detailed that the Mavs "did not expect to retain Derrick Jones," after their second-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"I had heard Naji Marshall also Isaac Okoro as potential [Derrick] Jones replacements as early as the Thunder series...I had also heard in that same breath that at the time Dallas did not expect to retain Derrick Jones..."

Inside The Mavs is new as @tim_cato joins! #MFFL pic.twitter.com/h1FTx5HRa6
— Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) July 4, 2024

Things later changed, and it looked like Jones Jr. was going to re-sign, but his agency change right before free agency began heavily affected Dallas' ability to keep him, and they decided to go with Marshall instead.

Not being able to keep Jones Jr. was a tough pill to swallow for Mavs fans considering that he fit in so well and wanted to return to Dallas badly, but the Mavs ended up signing a better offensive player who is also younger in Marshall.

The Mavs' priority of keeping Jones Jr. may have been a failure before the summer even started due to the doubt that existed before the playoffs ended, and this doubt returned once Jones Jr. switched agents.

For all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks all offseason long, stay tuned as we'll have you covered.

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