The Dallas Mavericks kick-started a new era this summer, bringing in Masai Ujiri as the president and Dusty May as the head coach. Building around Cooper Flagg, the Mavs will be more future-focused, but that doesn't mean that they won't try to be as competitive as possible next season.
Thanks to the new lottery rules, teams are incentivized to win as many games as possible, even if they project to be non-playoff teams. That is why the Mavs haven't torn it down entirely, holding onto veterans like Kyrie Irving, P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford so far.
This can obviously change. The Mavs still have some financial flexibility to add to the roster. With two open roster spots and access to the full non-taxpayer midlevel exception (starting at $15.1 million next season), the Mavs can further improve the roster.
Mavericks' depth chart doesn't look like a rebuild project at all
For now, however, this is what the Mavs' depth chart looks like:
PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Kyrie Irving | Max Christie | Cooper Flagg | P.J. Washington | Daniel Gafford |
Ryan Nembhard | Klay Thompson | Naji Marshall | Morez Johnson | Dereck Lively II |
Sergio de Larrea | Caleb Martin | Santi Aldama |
After it was revealed that Dallas was bringing Spanish rookie Sergio de Larrea, they have a more balanced roster between the backcourt and the frontcourt.
Yet, with the arrival of Morez Johnson Jr. and Santi Aldama, there is still an embarrassment of riches in the power forward position. Johnson Jr. and Aldama can both play center, but a trade may be needed to open up more playing time for Johnson Jr. Plus, Flagg needs to get some minutes at the power forward, as it projects to be his best position.
There is an intriguing amount of size, physicality, and versatility on the roster. Flagg at the three creates a supersized defensive lineup that may be difficult to score on. If Dereck Lively II can manage to get healthy, the Mavs could surprise teams with their defense.
To put it lightly, the Mavs are lacking shot creation and perimeter shooting. Irving's return will certainly help, but he is unlikely to play on both legs of back-to-backs and will presumably be on a minutes restriction to start the season. While he's been rumored as a trade candidate this season, everything indicates that Irving will stay, as May and Irving have gotten along really well since May was hired as HC.
Outside of Irving and Klay Thompson, the Mavs are light on shooting. Max Christie can also hit threes, and Washington and Aldama are fine for their positions, but Dallas needs to prioritize shooting for their final two roster spots.
There are a lot of moving parts in Dallas. Between the cap flexibility and trade candidates on the team, this depth chart could look different between now and the start of the season. As things stand now, with some injury luck, there could be a team that could surprise some people next season.
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