Ranking All 15 Players on the Mavericks 2023 Roster, Worst to Best
4. Derrick Jones Jr.
Derrick Jones Jr. has seen his role fall off in recent years after being a consistent starter on the wing for the Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers, but he continues to be a solid rotational option at forward, and he's a welcome addition in Dallas
Jones is never going to be a top offensive option (career-average usage rate of 13.5%), but he's capable of finishing at the rim (often in spectacular style), and he has gone 39.0% and 37.5% on corner threes over the last two seasons.
And his real value doesn't lie with his offense at all.
Jones is a terrific defender, and he'll hold his own defending most players in the NBA at the three or four. The Bulls even asked him to defend the center position at times last season, giving some intriguing flexibility for small-ball lineups.
With two elite ball handlers on the roster, this is exactly the kind of complementary piece that really helps round out the Mavs' lineup.
3. Grant Williams
In a year with a weak free agent class, it wasn’t good timing for the Mavs to have a big offseason need. But Grant Williams was one of the best players on the market and was a perfect fit in Dallas, so even with his big contract it’s hard not to be excited to have him.
At 6-foot-6 Williams is certainly undersized to play power forward, but his strength and savvy still let him thrive in that spot.
He’s a plus defender who can afford to switch onto just about anyone, and that continues the obvious trend of Dallas looking to get a lot better defensively this offseason.
The icing on the cake, though, is that Williams also fits really well into the Dallas offense.
Like I mentioned above with Kleber, we need someone at the four who can be a real threat from the arc to keep defenses honest. Williams has shot 41.1% and 39.% from 3-point range over the past two seasons, and he’s a career 42.7% on corner threes.
He doesn't need the ball in his hands to contribute (career-high usage rate of 13.1%), and at only 24 years old there's plenty of room for growth too.