The Dallas Mavericks are currently one of the worst teams in the Western Conference of the NBA. As a big Mavs fan, this comes to me as no surprise. After the trainwreck of an off-season, the Mavericks were doomed to fail. Sure they got Harrison Barnes, who is averaging about 20 points and 5 rebounds per game. However, that’s pretty much it. They lost their chance at getting Hassan Whiteside to the Miami Heat and Mike Conley, the highest paid player in NBA history, to the Memphis Grizzlies. With all that being said, I don’t think it’s time to panic.
Just so people don’t think I’m crazy, I’ve decided to make this list of my reason why you shouldn’t.
The West is underachieving –
As it stands right now, the Portland Trailblazers hold the final playoff spot with a record of 18-23, 5.5 games ahead of the Mavericks. Meaning, there’s still a chance for the Mavs to go on a small run and get lucky by climbing from the fifteenth spot to the eighth. Of course, those chances are slim, but it’s never bad to hope.
The Draft is loaded-
If the Mavericks keep losing as they are right now, they could end up with a top-five draft pick. Usually, I would shrug this off as the NBA draft usually produces three or four future stars, but this next draft class feels different from the average. Eight out of the top 10 prospects are putting up above average numbers, especially Markelle Fultz of the University of Washington and Lonzo Ball of UCLA.
Free Agency-
After several years of not being able to land a big free agent, fans might get skeptical on if the Mavericks ever will. However, an NBA legend once named Kevin Garnett said, “Anything is possible”, so don’t count them out just yet. Now, it’s very unlikely they will sign a Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry, but they can go after younger guys like Serge Ibaka, Jrue Holiday or Nerlens Noel to build around Harrison Barnes and whoever their draft pick is to make a young core for the future.
Old Reliable(s)-
With next season most likely being his last season, Dirk Nowitzki has shown lots of signs of slowing down, yet he is still one of their leading scorers with about 13 points and 5 rebounds per game. Dirk isn’t the only old guy on the Mavs as J.J. Barea is the only other player from their 2011 championship run and is playing just as good as Nowitzki with about 13 points and 6 assists per game. Their veteran experience is beginning to rub off on other players like Justin Anderson and Seth Curry. This might not have an immediate effect but will certainly help in the future.
All in all, things may look bleak now, but if they play their cards right, the future could be bright. If not, we still have the Cowboys and Rangers to fall back on.
