10 Reasons the Dallas Mavericks aced the 2024 offseason

While the Dallas Mavericks' offseason came upon the team rather quickly after making a run to the NBA Finals in June, the Mavericks undoubtedly had one of their most successful offseason periods in franchise history.

Dallas did a great job at improving in all three of the main facets of the NBA's transactional realm during this offseason, as Dallas' front office is finally starting to prove that they are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the NBA Draft, free agency, as well as the trade game.

There are obviously still plenty of questions heading into this season for the Mavericks, but most of those questions are ones that will be answered once Dallas steps on the court for the first time in October, as the Mavericks practically addressed all of their needs that they had heading into this offseason.

10 Reasons the Dallas Mavericks aced the 2024 offseason

Dallas is poised and positioned for another run at an NBA title this coming season, all in thanks to the moves that they were able to make this offseason, though they'll certainly have their work cut out for them when you take into consideration how vastly improved some of their rivals were able to get this offseason as well.

Most teams in the Western Conference improved, but the Mavs did enough to solidify themselves as one of the best teams in the league heading into the 2024-25 season.

10. Mavericks remained under first tax apron

Given some of the stipulations surrounding the NBA's newest CBA, the Dallas Mavericks did themselves justice by staying under the first tax apron this offseason. The Mavericks made a flurry of moves this offseason from sign-and-trading for Klay Thompson to signing Spencer Dinwiddie to a minimum contract most recently, so the fact that Dallas was able to improve extensively whilst remaining under the first tax apron was very impressive.

If the Mavericks exceeded the roughly $171 million tax line this offseason, they'd be limited in their ability to sign sought-after players on the buyout market and they wouldn't be able to take back more salary than they receive in trades. With limited draft capital to trade in the near future barring their 2031 first-round pick, Dallas has handicapped themselves from being able to swing any trades for most high-end talent, but remaining under the first apron gives Dallas the flexibility to still make a trade if things don't end up working out this coming season.

Coming off of a run to the NBA Finals, the Mavericks are definitely in win-now mode, especially when you take into consideration that Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic’s contracts both expire within the next two seasons.

However, this CBA is far more penalizing for tax-paying teams, so Dallas operated very smart this offseason by improving while still being able to stay under the first apron, as they are still a relatively young team and would’ve thrown away a lot of future flexibility by paying the tax.

9. Dallas added the perfect star to pair alongside Doncic and Irving

The Boston Celtics were able to expose the Dallas Mavericks in last year’s NBA Finals through their dynamism on the offensive end as well as their ability to switch one through five on the defensive end, but the Mavericks did their due diligence this summer in ensuring that Boston won’t have near as easy of a time knocking the Mavericks off should they face off against each other in the Finals again.

The Mavericks did this by adding one of the best shooters of all time this past offseason in Klay Thompson, as the 34-year-old wing projects to add an effective blend of spacing and shot creation to this Mavericks’ offense, which is something that Dallas desperately lacked against Boston in the Finals with how stout Boston’s point-of-attack defense was. 

Thompson is the perfect third star to pair alongside Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, as the Mavericks truly lacked tertiary shot creation and knockdown shooting as they got deeper into the playoffs, oftentimes relying too heavily upon Doncic and Irving to delegate their offensive workload.

With Thompson serving as a new release valve in the Mavericks’ offense, even elite defensive teams will be a lot more reluctant to double-team Irving and Doncic, as there’s simply too much offensive firepower to account for on Dallas’ side when the three of those players share the floor.

Thompson may be slowly declining defensively and isn’t as dynamic with the ball in his hands as he once was, but he’s still a near All-Star level player at this stage in his career, and he’s uber-motivated to prove the doubters wrong with the Mavericks.

While Thompson wasn’t the best player on the board in free agency, he’s likely the best fit out of any of the stars that Dallas could’ve hoped for, especially since his contract was a solid bargain at three years and $50 million.

8. Mavericks upgraded the Josh Green position

As necessary as it was for the Dallas Mavericks to part ways with Josh Green to make the financial components of their six-team sign-and-trade for Klay Thompson workout, it was still an unfortunate happenstance for Mavericks fans to see the 23-year-old guard leave for the Charlotte Hornets, as Green was starting to truly blossom on the biggest stage in the NBA Finals.

However, as far as replacing Green was concerned, the Mavericks did an excellent job by adding 24-year-old guard Quentin Grimes to fulfill Green’s role, as Grimes has similar dimensions to Green and is a stellar perimeter defender.

Grimes is coming to Dallas after playing a limited role for the Detroit Pistons post-trade deadline this past season, as Grimes was developing into a versatile 3-and-D guard during his time with the New York Knicks.

Green had his moments in Dallas where he flashed potential of becoming more consistent as a shot creator, shooter, and defender, but ultimately Grimes has proven to be more consistent in those areas in less NBA seasons played.

As a full-time starter with the Knicks in 2022-23, Grimes averaged 11.3 points and 3.2 rebounds on 46.8/38.6/79.6 shooting splits, so there’s plenty of reason to believe he can bring something similar to the Mavericks in a featured role off the bench.

Grimes is also a great athlete just like Green was, and while he may not be quite the playmaker that Green was, he’s much more decisive and is just as explosive when attacking on drives. 

Grimes is excited to be in Dallas and he should bring the Mavericks the ability to guard one-through-three at an extremely high level whilst being an offensive upgrade over Green, so Dallas’ front office scores an A+ for being able to bring Grimes to Dallas in the Tim Hardaway Jr. trade.

7. Mavericks found the perfect replacement for Derrick Jones Jr.

One of the Dallas Mavericks’ biggest priorities heading into free agency was re-signing Derrick Jones Jr., but it unfortunately became readily apparent that the Mavericks likely wouldn’t be able to retain Jones Jr. in the hours leading up to free agency, as the LA Clippers promised Jones Jr. more money and likely more of a lead role.

Jones Jr. of course ended up signing with the Clippers for those very reasons, but the Mavericks acted quickly to find a replacement for Jones Jr., as they signed 6-foot-7 and 220-pound wing Naji Marshall to a three-year, $27 million contract shortly after free agency started.

Don’t get it twisted, Jones Jr. was excellent for the Mavericks last season and did an outstanding job as the lead point-of-attack defender for Dallas in the playoffs, but he had the best shooting season of his career from 3-point range last season at a mark of 34.3 percent, so he's not even close to being as proven of a shooter from downtown as Marshall is.

Marshall was fairly average from distance in his first three NBA seasons, but last season he shot a career-best 38.7 percent from outside in 66 games coming off the bench for the New Orleans Pelicans. Just like Jones Jr., Marshall has also flashed the ability to create his own shot, as he's surprisingly deceptive in his ability to use his strength to get to the rim.

Marshall is more oriented to guard bigger-bodied wings compared to Jones Jr. when you take into consideration Marshall's frame, though he lacks the elite-level lateral speed and verticality that Jones Jr. has which gives him the ability to consistently stay with smaller guards as well.

While Marshall is stylistically different from Jones Jr. on both sides of the ball, he's likely better than Jones Jr. offensively and isn't a major fall off defensively from Jones Jr., so Mavericks fans should be excited for Marshall's addition to the rotation despite how much of fan-favorite Jones Jr. became last season.

6. Mavericks were able to extend Jason Kidd's contract

Perhaps the most forgotten aspect of the Dallas Mavericks offseason transactions was the fact that they extended head coach Jason Kidd on a new multi-year contract in May, even if the move technically came before the offseason even started.

Kidd has obviously been a polarizing figure for Mavericks fans since he first stepped foot in Dallas in 2021, but it’s without a doubt that he’s proven his worth to be Dallas’ head coach for the next few coming seasons, as Kidd has led the Mavericks to two Western Conference Finals appearances as well as a trip to the NBA Finals in just three seasons as the coach of the Mavericks.

Kidd has certainly made some head-scratching decisions in late-game scenarios and could’ve done a better job at optimizing Dallas’ rotations through certain points these last three seasons, but he hasn’t always had the best roster to work with and has become much better in these areas, particularly last season.

Kidd has proven that he can match the in-game strategizing of other coaches in high-intensity playoff settings in two separate seasons with the Mavericks, and he’s already a great coach as far as maintaining solid player relationships across his roster goes. 

Kidd is in a unique position as Dallas’ coach since he’s already won a championship with the Mavericks as a player and is a likely Hall-of-Famer, as his mentorship and experience that he can give to Dallas’ players was never a weak point.

With Kidd displaying great growth in terms of the other facets that come along with being an NBA head coach, it was a great vote of confidence by Dallas’ front office to extend Kidd’s contract during the NBA Playoffs, as it was an underrated move to secure Kidd’s services for the coming seasons after his proven success in Dallas.

5. Dallas still bought stock in the NBA Draft despite not needing to

When a team gets to the NBA Finals and only has a late second-round pick to their name in the impending NBA Draft a few days later, that team typically has a tendency to blow the draft off to an extent, as teams scarcely find talent that is ready to contribute at the NBA level at that stage in the draft.

However, the Dallas Mavericks did a great job at winning within the margins during the 2024 NBA Draft, as Dallas opted to trade up from the 58th overall pick to the 51st overall pick en route to selecting French product Melvin Ajinca.

The Mavericks wouldn't have drawn harsh criticism for selecting a player in the draft who doesn't necessarily fit any needs, but after years of Dallas' front office not recognizing the draft as a viable avenue for talent acquisition, they've done a great job at recognizing the importance of the draft over the last few seasons.

Ajinca is a 6-foot-8 wing who possesses a solid ability to attack driving lanes for nifty finishes at the rim and is also an NBA-ready defender, though he plans on playing in the EuroLeague next season for French club LDLC ASVEL, as he clearly still has some intangibles to work on before being truly ready to contribute for the Mavericks.

Ajinca may be a draft-and-stash player for the time being, but Dallas was smart to take a gamble on him given their recent success in the draft, as you never know when a late second-round pick could blossom into a rotation player in the NBA.

While it's a far fetch at this stage to say Ajinca will carve out a long and illustrious NBA career, the Mavericks did their due diligence in this past draft by giving themselves a puncher's chance that Ajinca pans out into a rotational player who fits a need at some point, something that not every NBA team selecting late in the second round can say.

4. Mavs were able to add another playmaker on a bargain deal

After the Dallas Mavericks wrapped up the majority of their offseason transactions before even getting close to mid-July, it was clear that there was still a need for another playmaker and shot creator with Dallas’ last remaining roster spot.

Fortunately for the Mavericks, they were able to address this need by signing former Maverick Spencer Dinwiddie to a one-year veteran’s minimum contract at the beginning of August. Dinwiddie was possibly the best backup point guard option available on the market at that juncture of the offseason, so it’s a huge win to secure his services given his skillset, as Dallas’ loss to Boston in the Finals exposed the Mavericks need for more dynamism off-the-dribble.

Dinwiddie had one of the best stretches of his career while he was in Dallas, as he averaged 17.1 points and 4.9 assists per game whilst shooting 40.5 percent from 3-point-land in 76 games played with the Mavericks. Dinwiddie is acclaimed to Dallas’ offensive system under Jason Kidd, and he has experience playing with both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, so it shouldn’t be too much of a transition for him to fit into Dallas’ playstyle.

Dinwiddie may not be the extra ball-stopping guard that Dallas was coveting for with their last roster spot, but he’s a solid playmaker and an excellent shot creator which was Dallas’ primary need. 

Dinwiddie had one of the best defensive stretches of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the regular season and playoffs last year, so hopefully he can reciprocate some of that in Dallas even though he won’t be playing a 3-and-D role like he was in Los Angeles.

Even if Dinwiddie doesn’t work out in his second tenure in Dallas, the Mavericks used very little of their financial resources with this signing, so Dinwiddie heading back to Dallas was probably the best possible outcome for the Mavericks’ quest of completing the fulfillment of their full 15-man roster.

3. Luka Doncic didn't play in Olympics coming off of NBA Finals run

One of the more underrated wins from this Mavericks offseason was the fact that Luka Doncic didn’t get a chance to play in the Olympics. This may sound ludicrous at first glance when you take into consideration that Doncic has proudly represented the Mavericks on the international stage by playing for his home country of Slovenia nearly every summer since he’s been in Dallas.

However, coming off an entire NBA season and run to the NBA Finals with the Mavericks, it was clear that Doncic needed some extra time to recoup this summer, especially when one takes into consideration that Doncic had multiple injuries throughout most of Dallas’ long playoff run. 

Doncic played in three Olympic qualifying games for the Slovenian national team until Slovenia was outed in the Semifinals of the qualifying tournament after losing to Greece by a score of 96-68.

Doncic shot decently from the field against Greece, but he looked like a shell of himself on the court during Slovenia’s three games in the qualifying tournament, as he was clearly still hobbled by the same injuries he was dealing with in the Finals. Doncic had many uncharacteristic turnovers in the three contests and didn’t look nearly as explosive as he typically does, so while it was fun for Mavericks fans to see him on the court shortly after the Finals, it was very rough to see how much he was struggling as well.

Had Slovenia made the Olympics, Doncic would’ve undoubtedly given it a go when you take into consideration the price he has in playing for his country. The Olympics only occur once every four years and are a special opportunity for a country like Slovenia, so Doncic throwing his injury recovery to the wayside would’ve been completely understandable in that instance, but there’s an argument to be made that he shouldn’t have been playing in mere qualifying games given the extent of his injuries after such a long season.

Luckily for the Mavericks though, Doncic didn’t re-injure himself in any of the qualifying games and is projected to make a full recovery ahead of the start of training camp.

2. Dallas is expected to be fully healthy heading into training camp

If the Dallas Mavericks have any takeaways from the 2023-24 NBA Playoffs, it's that good health is paramount for a team if they want to make a deep postseason run. The Mavericks struggled with injuries all playoffs long last season, particularly in regards to recurring injuries to superstar Luka Doncic.

It's no secret that Doncic wasn't at 100 percent throughout most of the playoffs, and while he was able to miraculously play through immense pain to lead Dallas to the NBA Finals, it's without doubt that a healthier Doncic could've potentially yielded a different outcome than Dallas losing to Boston in five games in the Finals.

Jason Kidd and Dallas' training staff will inevitably have their hands full trying to manage Doncic and fellow superstar Kyrie Irving's health throughout the season, but with everyone projecting to be healthy heading into training camp, Dallas is projected to be fully healthy at the start of next season.

This could obviously change on a dime though, as the Mavericks were scared of that happening earlier this summer when it was reported that Irving broke his left hand during a training session. However, it's been reported that Irving's projected timetable to make a full recovery will be ahead of the start of Mavericks training camp, and Doncic projects to be fully healthy by then as well.

Injury misfortunes are a part of the game, but the Mavericks can't take for granted that everyone from their superstars to their two-way contract players is projected to be at 100 percent health-wise heading into training camp, as it's the most idealistic scenario given the new faces on this roster as well as a luxury that not every team in the NBA can say they will have this coming fall.

1. Mavericks added win-now pieces while maintaining continuity

Typically when teams make it to the NBA Finals, it's hard to posit any potential tinkers to their roster for the coming offseason, as a team has to be hyper-efficient from top to bottom with little to no holes in their roster to make it to the Finals.

Most teams that lose in the Finals don't always try and drastically change their roster in the following offseason, but the Mavericks opted to take a different approach than that during this offseason. Dallas of course brought in Grimes, Marshall, Thompson, and Dinwiddie this offseason, an assortment of four players that are far and away better in the aggregate than those who left Dallas this offseason in Hardaway Jr., Green, and Jones Jr.

While it may take some time to blend in some of these new faces in Dallas, these moves were all savvy by the Mavericks' front office and are moves that complement the type of basketball that Dallas is trying to play next season.

The Mavericks were able to strike the perfect balance of maintaining continuity as well as improving their rotation substantially this offseason, which is something that can't be said about most past offseason periods in Dallas over the past decade.

Equipped with a talented array of players who are 26 years old or under and fit Luka Doncic's timeline, the Mavericks also have quite a few wily veterans with championship experience that will help the team stay the course throughout the egregiously tough NBA season. While it may take some time for Dallas to gel together despite how seamless this roster looks on paper, it's certain the Mavericks hit a home run this offseason by keeping the main core of their 2023-24 Western Conference Finals champion team intact whilst adding high-level role players to their rotation.

For more on the Dallas Mavericks ahead of the start of training camp, stay tuned as we'll be your one-stop shop for any news pertaining to the Mavericks.