The Dallas Mavericks went all-in with their bid to sign unrestricted free agent center DeAndre Jordan. Even the casual basketball fan already knows what happened next. So now that Jordan has changed his mind and they didn’t really have a Plan B in place, what’s their starting lineup going to look like next season?
Zaza Pachulia, Center
Dallas parted ways with veteran center Tyson Chandler after agreeing to terms with Jordan and they never got the opportunity to apologize to him and ask him to return after he signed a deal with the Phoenix Suns. That left the Mavericks extremely thin at a position of need with Zaza Pachulia and Bernard James the only remaining centers on their roster.
Pachulia is a veteran center that can handle some decent minutes but he is extremely limited at both ends of the floor and a major downgrade at the position after Chandler played at such a high level over the past couple of years. Dallas can still make a trade to address the weakness here but it’s pretty clear that they were left out in the cold in this spot.
Dirk Nowitzki, Power Forward
There is no doubt about Nowitzki’s place in Mavericks history but he is 37 years old and his numbers dipped again last season. He averaged just 29.7 minutes per game in 77 appearances. Nowitzki is still a quality option but he has a lot of miles on the tires and his three-point shooting percentage has dipped in each of the last two seasons. Dallas undoubtedly wanted to have the type of veteran big man that could hold down the fort in the paint and really allow Nowitzki to play more of a finesse role to keep his body fresh. And they probably wanted to find some kind of a young prospect at power forward that could likely ease Nowitzki’s burden. Instead, now it looks like they’ll have to rely on Dirk even more so and that’s not a great plan.
Chandler Parsons, Small Forward
Parsons played a starring role in the recruiting of Jordan and nobody came across as more bitter than him when Jordan signed with the Clippers. There are some that will argue that Parsons talked way too much and is still just the fourth- or fifth-best option on a championship team, but he will have to play a bigger role for the Mavericks after they missed out on a star big man. Parsons is an excellent three-point shooter with the size and athleticism to contribute at both ends of the floor. If there is one winner in terms of fantasy, it’s him. You’ll want to own him.
Wesley Matthews, Shooting Guard
The Mavericks didn’t have enough money for Jordan and Monta Ellis, so they settled for overpaying the veteran Matthews in order to create enough room to convince Jordan to sign. That is the other aspect of a brutal negotiation and now Dallas will be relying on Matthews to do more than he may be capable of doing coming off a torn Achilles injury. His biggest strength was his athleticism and ability to create at the offensive end of the floor, so it will be interesting to see how much of a toll the injury has on him.
Matthews is still just 28 years old, but with Jordan returning to the Clippers, Matthews got $13 million more. That’s probably too much for what he brings to the table.
Deron Williams, Point Guard
Williams returns to Dallas as a 31-year-old veteran point guard whose production has dipped in each of the last three seasons with the Brooklyn Nets. He’s an old 31 and looks like he’s on his last legs. However, the Mavericks are still hoping he has enough left in the tank to make an impact. Improving his game shape will be an important factor after he looked tired and slow at times last season, but he still made his 36% of his threess last season while averaging 6.6 assists. He’s probably spent but he’s still a better option than Devin Harris and Raymond Felton.
Are The Mavs Better?
Losing Chandler and Al-Farouq Aminu really hurts the front court in Dallas. However, Parsons should be better this season, Matthews is a much better fit for the team than Ellis ever was and Williams should be a slight upgrade at the point guard position. Rick Carlisle is an awesome coach who’ll get the most out of this team but it’s hard to believe they’ll be much better than last season.
In fantasy terms, keep an eye on Parsons, Matthews and Williams – if you can get him as a late-round flier in your draft.
