Mavericks: Who Starts At Center?

By Christian Blood | Sep 10, 2015

The Dallas Mavericks face as many questions as they ever have heading into 2015, the biggest among them being who will start at center?

It was an off season that will be remembered primarily for the successful – and then unsuccessful pursuit of Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan. The drama was so unprecedented for the Mavericks, and the NBA, that the Clippers ended up getting fined a quarter-million dollars for parts of their role in the pursuit of the 6’11” center who can perhaps buy some free throws with his new fortune.

Lost amid the fallout of this ridiculous sequence was the moves that the Mavericks made immediately thereafter and also in the weeks that followed.

Dallas owner Mark Cuban handled the situation with class, and then he set about the task of finding alternatives.

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I can’t say how good the Mavericks will be at each position, but I don’t believe that the center spot will be among the weakest. In fact, this position is one of the deepest on the roster, at least for right now.

This does not include the drafting of Indian-born center Satnam Singh, a 7’2” and 290 pound stilt who’s likely a few years away from contributing. At just 19-years old and with zero college basketball experience, Singh is a player that will be looked upon as a possibility no sooner than the 2016-17 season – and likely after that.

In the hours after Jordan decided to remain with the Clippers, the Mavs immediately traded for Milwaukee Bucks center Zaza Pachulia, a Georgian-born center who stands 6’11” and is more known for his offensive ability than his defensive prowess.

Mark Cuban went on record comparing Pachulia’s mid-range shooting to that of power forward Dirk Nowitzki. There’s a nice discussion amongst a few contributors at Mavs Money Ball that discusses this very subject.

What’s clear is that Pachulia is going to be primarily an offensive player, while the rest of the Mavericks figure to play a backup role likely to specialize in the defensive area. This is precisely where JaVale McGee comes into play.

McGee is known for some less-than proud moments on the basketball court, but he’s certainly got tremendous athleticism and can block shots like few can in the NBA. Conventional wisdom suggests that McGee will be the primary backup to Pachulia, but I’m not so sure.

If salary is any indication, Pachulia definitely starts. The former Bucks big man is set to earn just over $5 million during the final season of a three-year contract signed with Milwaukee back in 2013.

McGee, on the other hand, will play for the veterans minimum of just over $1.2 million on a one-year deal with the Mavericks.

But if last season offers a hint, it could be the other way around, at least for this season.

In 2014-15, starter Tyson Chandler definitely led the way for mid-season acquisition Amar’e Stoudemire. The former was much more of a defensive presence while the latter simply didn’t have the legs to play much defense. Stoudemire wasn’t bad at all providing points off the bench, however.

So, this wasn’t a bad pairing of centers for the Mavericks, but it probably came just a bit too late where Stoudemire was concerned.

Could head coach Rick Carlisle go with defense over offense to start most games?

If this is the case, there’s a discussion to be had about McGee possibly starting, thus giving Pachulia a more favorable match up against backup centers that aren’t likely to have the same skill set as conference counterparts like Jordan, Dwight Howard of the Houston Rockets or Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs.

Then comes additional centers Samuel Dalembert, obviously heading back for his second stint in Dallas, and Tunisian newcomer Salah Mejri.

It’s interesting that Dalembert was signed after Mejri, who had some outstanding blocks of former Mav forward Al-Farouq Aminu at AfroBasket 2015 in Tunisia. It’s completely unclear as to which of these two centers will play the greater role this coming season.

Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News answered this very question last weekend regarding how the Mavericks center rotation would work – kind of.

I can’t say that I know anything more, but if I had to guess, the last men standing would be Pachulia, McGee and hopefully Mejri – and I’m taking a flyer on McGee starting.

The Mavericks may not have landed one superstar center, but having a stable of diverse bodies at the position could be an ace in the hole for Carlisle this season.

Next: Can Deron Williams Get Along In Dallas?

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