The Dallas Mavericks had arguably the worst offseason of any team in the NBA. They suffered by far the biggest loss in free agency, as Jalen Brunson signed a four-year, $104 million deal with the New York Knicks to become their new starting point guard.
It was a huge blow to Dallas as Brunson was their second-best player behind Luka Doncic. He improved each season he was in the NBA, eventually working his way into the starting lineup alongside Doncic and taking over as the No. 1 option whenever Doncic was sidelined. Without him in the lineup, the team is dangerously thin on ball handlers.
At his charity tennis tournament, Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki talked about Brunson and how much his departure hurts the team. But, he made sure to also praise him for landing a contract that he is well worth.
“Losing Brunson is always tough,” Nowitzki said. “He was a huge part in what we were doing the last few years.
“He’s a great combo guard. We wish him luck. He really deserves that contract, but both sides had to move on.”
Dallas focused much of their offseason on upgrading the frontcourt, acquiring Christian Wood from the Houston Rockets in a trade and signing JaVale McGee in free agency using a portion of their mid-level exception. They didn’t expect to have to replace Brunson, which has left them in a bind.
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Spencer Dinwiddie will be stepping into the starting lineup in his place, but the depth behind him and Doncic is suspect. Frank Ntilikina is the only other ball-handler on the roster, which will mean players such as Tim Hardaway Jr., who is returning this season from injury, will have to step up their game.
“I think we have some guys who can step in, and that’s always important to have shooting and playmaking at the two-guard spot,” Nowitzki said. “Hardaway missed basically half of the season last year, so him coming back and being fully healthy is exciting.
“I think with Spencer having a tremendous year when he came last year, I think we’re going to make up for that loss (of Brunson) by guys stepping in and hopefully having a good season.”
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In addition to the two veterans, the team will also be hoping that Josh Green, a first-round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, can step into a larger role and flourish. Replacing Brunson is going to be a total team effort as the depth of this team is certainly in the frontcourt.
It would not be surprising to see the Mavericks make a trade at some point in the near future to alleviate some of their log jam at the power forward and center positions to add depth to the wing or backcourt.
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