3 Mavericks Primed to Disappoint During 2023-24 Season

2. Seth Curry

Seth Curry is back in Dallas once again. While some are excited about this re-signing following two previous good years with the team, it's fair to wonder if lightning will strike again.

The Duke product first truly broke out with the Mavs during the 2016-17 season, averaging 12.8 PPG and 2.7 APH while shooting an impressive 42.5% from 3-point range over 70 games.

After a tibia injury sidelined him for the 2017-18 campaign and a one-year stop in Portland following that, Curry ended up back in Dallas for the 2019-20 season. He was an integral member of the bench rotation again, putting up 12.4 PPG, 1.9 APG and shooting a career-high 45.2% from deep.

The guard then played a role for playoff teams in Philadelphia and Brooklyn, but he took a significant step back during last season that should have fans a bit cautious. Curry posted his second-lowest PPG since returning from his tibia injury while recording the worst 3-point percentage mark (40.5%) of his career.

Now, Curry's playing time did take a significant step back, with the veteran only seeing 19.9 minutes per night -- but that's a concern in itself. He failed to clearly separate himself from the backup guards on Brooklyn's roster, and instead spent the entire year in a timeshare.

It's fair to wonder if Curry is about to plateau after that drop-off. He just turned 33 years old, which puts him at a disadvantage in an NBA era that's getting younger and younger. He's made up for his lack of size (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) by bringing the energy on defense, but that gets tougher with age.

His 40.5% mark from deep last season was stil clearly above league average, but it saw him place just No. 30 overall, and it didn't translate into many actual points. Curry's allure as a sixth man-type is predicated on him being a truly elite three-point shooter and who rack up points in a hurry. If he's just above-average and not scoring a ton, then he's simply another guy to bring off of the bench, instead of a leader of the reserve rotation.

Curry's third Mavs stint could very well be his worst if his decline from last season continues.