The Dallas Mavericks had a fascinating offseason that included plenty of unorthodox moves. From the hiring of Mike Schmitz as the new GM under Masai Ujiri to poaching national champion Dusty May from Michigan, the Mavs changed their outlook as much as any other team in the league this summer.
This includes the roster. Perhaps the splashy moves some fans were hoping for never came, but the Mavs still made a couple of notable moves.
Let's try to decide on our favorite and least favorite among these moves.
Best move: Acquiring Tarik Biberovic
There are plenty to choose from here. Bringing Sergio de Larrea right away, acquiring Marcus Sasser for nothing, or making the outside-the-box hire of May all deserve praise. But the Tarik Biberovic move stands above the rest.
It's not because Biberovic will undoubtedly be a difference-maker. He may struggle to adapt to the NBA. What deserves praise is the Mavs' willingness to target him and trade for him without giving up anything of value. He signed a $3 million deal, including a team option for another $3 million the season after. This has the chance to be a very team-friendly contract.
Biberovic has been one of the best players in Europe over the last several years. Some of his game might not translate to the NBA, but his shooting certainly will. The Turkish-Bosnian forward's shooting numbers are out of this world, hitting way over 40 percent from three every season. Given how desperately the Mavs need shooting, this is an excellent flyer on a player with high-level rotation player upside.
Worst move: Trading for Santi Aldama
This isn't a knock on Aldama. It's not even that bad of a move, and that highlights how good an offseason the Mavs have had so far.
Sure, ideally, they would have traded a few more of their valuable veterans (i.e., P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford) for future assets, but it doesn't seem fair to ding them for moves they haven't made.
When it comes to the Aldama acquisition, the main issue is that the Mavs really didn't need to add another combo big. Especially after drafting Morez Johnson Jr. in the lottery, bringing Aldama into the frontcourt rotation is not the best use of resources.
It's not like Aldama is on a team-friendly deal. He makes $17 million next season and has a team option for the same amount in 2027-28. Perhaps they treated him like an expiring contract, and it didn't cost them all that much (a very heavily protected 2030 first-round pick from Golden State), but the Mavs would have been better off adding more depth in the backcourt.
The 25-year-old Spaniard is a good player, to be sure. He has some two-way ability as a shooter and rim protector, but is not great on either end. He will help Dallas with his all-around game, but it's difficult to see him as a part of the long-term vision.
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