How quickly do the Mavericks really want to rebuild?
By Reid Hanson
The Dallas Mavericks are attempting to rebuild their team into a contender, but how quickly do they really want to turn things around?
After finishing the season with the third worst record in the NBA, the Dallas Mavericks find themselves undeniably in rebuilding mode. Armed with a top lottery pick (actual draft slot pending), they have the chance to add a significant talent to their roster.
Free agency also provides an avenue to improve for the coming season. With superstar players like LeBron James, Paul George, and others expected to hit the market, the fallout could provide excellent talent to become available to the Mavs via salary dump. Eddie Sefko just did a great article on scenarios such as this.
It stands to reason if the Mavericks hit big in both the draft and in free agency, they could find themselves competing for a playoff spot as soon as next spring. But is that really a good thing?
No shortcuts
Unless you can lure someone like LeBron James to your franchise, there are no shortcuts in building a contender. A true contender.
As we can see in these NBA playoffs, there is an enormous difference between the top seeds and all the rest. In such a top-heavy day and age, there are only two or three teams with legitimate championship hopes.
If the Mavs score big this summer, they could feasibly become a playoff team, but there is virtually no sequence of events that could lead them to true contender status in just one offseason. In fact, a great offseason may actually slow the process and make the road to NBA championship that much more distant.
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Be careful of “The Process”
If the goal is to become a great team (and it is) then the rebuilding process needs to be methodical. Multiple lottery picks will be needed in order to turn this franchise into a championship contender.
If the Mavericks do too well this offseason and sneak into the playoffs next year, they’ll miss that opportunity to improve with lottery picks. The win/loss improvement would look promising on paper but it would really stunt the team’s growth and make a championship that much farther away.
But on the flip side we see what can happen when you get to obsessed with the rebuilding (tanking) process. The 76ers have been a punchline for the past half-a-dozen seasons because if this very line of thinking.
Determined to be as bad as possible and collect as many premium draft picks as possible, the 6ers have been nothing short of embarrassing. While they find themselves crawling out of that hole now, the pain they put their franchise and fans through is hardly worth it.
The Mavericks must find middle ground. It will be tempting to sign a veteran free agent star player who can help them win now (someone like DeMarcus Cousins) but I’m not so sure that would be good for the long-term health of the franchise.
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If we want the Dallas Mavericks to return to true contender status, they are probably going to need to stink for one or two more seasons (minimum). And they have to find a way to hit it big in the draft a couple more times before they swing for a star free agent. There are no shortcuts.