The Dallas Mavericks had a disappointing 2022-2023 NBA season
Christian Wood, and his complete aversion to being a viable defensive presence, couldn’t get into the favor of Head Coach Jason Kidd, and he received inconsistent playing time all year, leading him to have little positive consequence on the court for Dallas.
The Mavericks other big signing was JaVale McGee, who was an ever bigger bust than Wood was. Wood has earned a reputation as a one-way player, and Dallas expecting him to suddenly turn into a plus defender was their own fault.
As for McGee, he couldn’t find his niche for the Mavs on either end of the court, despite a simplified role handpicked for him.
Dallas’s early struggles pressured them into a risky, win-now move before last season’s trade deadline, dealing for the mercurial but talented Kyrie Irving.
Between the limited amount of games available to them and various injuries, Kai and LukaDoncic couldn’t catch a groove together, and the Mavericks ultimately failed to make the postseason.
The Dallas Mavericks vastly improved on paper in the 2023 NBA offseason
This offseason, though, the organization showed that they are serious about competing now with Doncic entering the early years of his prime. Dallas was able to make shrewd moves that’ll benefit them this upcoming season and later down the road, both on the basketball court and in their checkbook.
Gone are a few contributors from the past couple of seasons including Reggie Bullock, FrankNtilikina, and, potentially, Christian Wood. The Mavs were able to theoretically replace their production easily, though, with a flurry of offseason additions, most notably Grant Williams, Seth Curry, Richaun Holmes, Derrick Jones Jr., and two first-round picks in Dereck Lively II and Olivier Maxwell-Prosper.
With those new faces, a full season with Luka and Kyrie sharing the backcourt, and internal development of their young players like Jaden Hardy and Josh Green, the Mavs are slated to be a much better team next season, at least on paper.
Head Coach Jason Kidd has enough talent to reasonably establish his Mavericks as a serious title contender; the pressure is now on him to turn this talented roster into an actual threat for the championship.
If not, Kidd seems like the most obvious choice to be replaced next on the team, as his hiring was suspect to begin with between his history of off-court scandals and his lack of coaching success in previous stops.
Dallas Mavericks odds to win 2023-2024 NBA Finals
Vegas is a little uncertain about the Mavericks, as the duality between their shortcomings last season and their new, seemingly improved roster make them a tough team to peg down, especially when factoring in the pros and cons of a squad partly led by Kyrie Irving.
At this time, Dallas has been given the 11th-best odds to win the 2023-2024 NBA Finals, putting them ahead of more recently successful teams such as the Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, and New York Knicks, but squarely a tier below more established contenders like Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, and even the Los Angeles Lakers.
It could be argued that the Mavericks have the best value on the board as a Finals futures pick when factoring in the overall talent on their roster and their current odds.
None of the teams below them and few of the ones above have an All-World player capable of reaching the same heights as Luka Doncic.
This could very well be the year that he proves himself as the best player on the planet by securing an NBA title, or at least another extended playoff run.
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