The Dallas Mavericks have had a very eventful offseason. Their roster underwent some changes ahead of the NBA trade deadline and those moves haven’t stopped coming during the offseason.
Before the 2022 NBA Draft, Dallas completed a trade with the Houston Rockets to upgrade their center position, acquiring Christian Wood. The Mavericks sent Boban Marjanovic, Sterling Brown, Marquese Chriss, Trey Burke and the No. 26 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft to the Rockets to complete the deal.
Dallas continued bolstering their depth at the center position when they signed JaVale McGee. However, they did suffer a significant blow when Jalen Brunson opted to sign with the New York Knicks to become their starting point guard in free agency.
Replacing Brunson won’t be easy as he was easily their second-best player in the postseason alongside Luka Doncic. Getting Tim Hardaway Jr. back in the lineup will help, but Brunson was a significant piece of their rotation.
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Jason Kidd will have to find someone to replace him in the starting five, and it sounds like Spencer Dinwiddie will get the first crack. In addition to that, Kidd revealed that JaVale McGee will be his starting center.
“We can’t replace Brunson,” Kidd said. “He’s a great player. I’m happy for him and his family signing a deal in New York. Well deserved. We wanted him back but he picked New York. But when you talk about Christian Wood and Tim Hardaway Jr. coming back, everybody’s asked this question and we believe the points will be there.
“And we believe we’re going to be a bigger team. Nothing against JB’s height, but with Spencer starting, our starting five is going to be big with JaVale starting at the center. We believe we’re going to have a lot more offense coming off the bench.”
Doncic is locked into a starting spot as well and it would be hard to imagine Wood not having a starting spot after being acquired in trade. That last spot could very well go to Dorian Finney-Smith.
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Finney-Smith is a quintessential 3-and-D guy. His presence on the defensive end of the court will be needed as a stopper on the perimeter as Spencer Dinwiddie, Luka Doncic and Christian Wood are sometimes underwhelming performers on that end of the court.
If that is what Kidd goes with, Reggie Bullock will be moved to the second unit. His 3-and-D prowess was a good fit alongside Doncic as well, but it sounds as if Kidd is looking to play another ball-handler and capable playmaker alongside Doncic in the starting five, not another stationary shooter like Bullock.
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There is still plenty of time until the regular season gets underway for Jason Kidd to perfect his lineup, but right now, it sounds like he has JaVale McGee and Spencer Dinwiddie in the starting five. That could change between now and the start of the regular season, but the team’s two biggest acquisitions this offseason are both centers and both look like they will be in the starting lineup on opening night.
