2016-17 Finish: 29-53

Season Highlight:

Smart Management – the Dallas Mavericks have cleverly manufactured a team that has the hallmarks of the perfect team re-think. The Mavericks recruited with a wide-spread gaze and a forward thinking mentality. Recruiting Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Jerryd Bayless, Fred VanVleet, Nerlens Noel and Allen Crabbe among others. The Mavericks off-loaded to invest in picks which saw smokey select three players in the NLL Draft – Lonzo Ball (2), Jonathan Isaac (8) and Edrice Adebayo (12). Also holding picks multiple picks in upcoming seasons to either add youth or used to bolster trade deals. The reshaping of the Dallas Mavericks roster has been hard fought and praise is given to smokey for being active. The question now stands – Can the Mavericks start bringing home the chocolates in the upcoming season?

Season Lowlight:

The poor season finish by the Dallas Mavericks. Results-wise a season to forget for GM smokey. With 29 wins throughout the season, the Mavericks will be looking to improve on this next season. The Mavericks will be looking to turn things around this season with a list that could be very competitive. Not much cheering was on the cards for the Mav faithful – with the duo of Mudiay and Noel holding the flag for the franchise. However, that was not what this season was about.

Best Trade:

The Dallas Mavericks send Shabazz Muhammad to the Orlando Magic. The Milwaukee Bucks send Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to the Dallas Mavericks. The Orlando Magic send DeMarre Carroll to the Milwaukee Bucks.

As the GM smokey has been incredibly active it was hard to select ONE trade that was a standout.

But for me, this one stands out as a great trade for the Mavs.
For what they gave up in Muhammad, they secured Hollis-Jefferson who was then used in the trade that secured the Mavericks, James Ennis and two 1^st round draft picks.

A long play that will inevitably work out for the Dallas Mavericks and clever movement of players and picks to maintain a future and secure a provider in James Ennis.

Worst Trade:

Hard to choose the WORST trade.

The Cleveland Cavaliers send Rakeem Christmas to the Dallas Mavericks. The Dallas Mavericks send Jarell Martin to the Cleveland Cavaliers. 
The Cleveland Cavaliers send a 2nd-Rounder (Cle) to the Dallas Mavericks. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers trade -7 GM points.The Dallas Mavericks receive 7 GM points

Fast-forwarding past this deal – the winners in this deal were slim. Both teams managed to scrape something out of the deal with Martin remaining in the Cleveland rotations, and Dallas receiving another pick and some GMs. But Rakeem Christmas went by the way-side onto the Free Agent block and was passed up again and again.
No real winners on this one, but some slim stash pieces came from it.

 

Other Notable Trades:

A very active season for smokey.

The Oklahoma City Thunder send Semi Ojeleye to the San Antonio Spurs. The San Antonio Spurs send Tyler Johnson to the Dallas Mavericks. 
The Dallas Mavericks send a 2nd-Rounder (GS) to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The San Antonio Spurs send a2nd-Rounder (Mia) to the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder trade -5 GM points.The San Antonio Spurs receive 5 GM points

 

The Dallas Mavericks send Danny Green to the Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards send Boris Diaw to the Dallas Mavericks. 
The Dallas Mavericks send a 2nd-Rounder (Dal) and 2nd-Rounder (Tor) to the Washington Wizards. 
The Dallas Mavericks trade -7 GM points.The Washington Wizards receive 7 GM points.

The Dallas Mavericks send DeAndre Jordan and Kelly Olynyk to the Detroit Pistons. The Detroit Pistons send Nerlens Noel and Allen Crabbe to the Dallas Mavericks. 

The Dallas Mavericks send Jrue Holiday to the Detroit Pistons. The Dallas Mavericks send Mike Dunleavy to the Miami Heat. The Detroit Pistons send Jerryd Bayless and Fred VanVleet to the Dallas Mavericks. 
The Detroit Pistons send a 1st-Rounder (NO) and 2nd-Rounder (Tor) to the Dallas Mavericks. 

The Dallas Mavericks send Nikola Mirotic to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Oklahoma City Thunder send Alex Abrines to the Dallas Mavericks. 
The Dallas Mavericks send a 1st-Rounder (Mil) to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Oklahoma City Thunder send a 1st-Rounder (Dal) to the Dallas Mavericks. 

The Dallas Mavericks send Louis Williams to the Detroit Pistons. The Detroit Pistons send Henry Ellenson and Kay Felder to the Dallas Mavericks. The Detroit Pistons send Kelly Olynyk and Solomon Hill to the Toronto Raptors. The Toronto Raptors send Joe Johnson to the Detroit Pistons. 
The Detroit Pistons send a 2nd-Rounder (Tor) to the Toronto Raptors. 

The Dallas Mavericks send Paul Zipser to the Golden State Warriors. The New York Knicks send Joe Harris to the Dallas Mavericks. 
The Dallas Mavericks send a 2nd-Rounder (Was) and 2nd-Rounder (Utah) to the New York Knicks. The Golden State Warriors send a 2nd-Rounder (GS) to the Dallas Mavericks. 

The Dallas Mavericks receive 5 GM points. The Golden State Warriors trade -5 GM points.

The Brooklyn Nets send James Ennis to the Dallas Mavericks. The Dallas Mavericks send Cameron Payne and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to the Brooklyn Nets. 
The Brooklyn Nets send a 1st-Rounder (Bkn) and 1st-Rounder (Bkn) to the Dallas Mavericks. The Dallas Mavericks send a 2nd-Rounder (Bos) to the Brooklyn Nets. 

 

Best & Worst FA Signing: No Free Agent Signings

Star:
Emmanuel Mudiay

The Mavericks have found an all-rounder in Emmanuel Mudiay. While the season was not all too impressive for the team, they had some shining lights and it was difficult to split between Mudiay,Noel and Pope.
Last season however Emmanuel posted up impressive numbers and coming into the season will only seek to get better with the new acquisitions of the franchise.
His season averages below highlight the broad range of Mudiay and his importance last season.

SEASON	TEAM	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	OFF	DEF	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
2016/17	Dal	61	52	27.1	0.37	0.30	0.75	0.4	3.2	3.6	5.9	0.6	0.4	2.0	1.6	17.1

 

It will be interesting to see how Mudiay slots into the new-look Mavericks lineup in 2017/18. Will he continue to play the same role – likely not, however he produced solid numbers for the Mavs.  

Surprise:

How the picks fell.

The 2017 draft worked out perfectly for smokey.
With picks 2,8, and 12, and a deep draft it was expected that the Mavs would do well in their picks. However the GM was able to pick up three players with ‘star potential’ written all over them and a spread of the talent that could equate towards a very hard-to-beat Dallas Mavericks squad. In more detail below in the Report Card – it was interesting to see the way the picks fell for the Mavs allowing them to extend the potential in the list across positions.  

 

 

Draft Report Card:

SG	Ball Lonzo	6-5	195	2017	1	2
SF	Isaac Jonathan	6-11	205	2017	1	8
PF	Adebayo Edrice	6-10	242	2017	1	12

Rated A – the Mavericks were able to pick up a SG,SF and PF within the top 15 picks of the 2017 draft.

#2 – Lonzo Ball: has already shown his potential and star-caliber in the Summer League as he picked up the Summer League MVP – with averages

#8 – Jonathan Isaac: Jonathan is receiving a lot of game time during the off-season and has posted impressive numbers with consistency. He has huge potential within the Orlando Magic roster and Vogel is looking to provide him with opportunities to develop in the team structure alongside Aaron Gordon.  

#12 Edrice Adebayo: Edrice enters the Miami Heat with a new-look role with more emphasise on his Center capabilities. He will likely back-up Kelly Olynyk at Miami however has all the talent and promise to claim the starting role in no-time.  

Each of these young rookies could be anything. 1 is already showing how he can light up the court while the two others have the potential to be solid NLL players and provide some real impact minutes for the Dallas Mavericks.

Looking to the Future:

The crystal ball looks a lil smokey – and that’s a good thing.
The Mavericks are shaping up nicely and with future picks in hand could see a great season in both squad progress and reflectively.
A 1^st Rounder and 2^nd Rounder in the 2018 draft will provide the team with opportunities to assess their list.
While the change might not be instantaneous within the league, the slow-burn might be quicker than many expect.
With multiple pieces of value and a forward-thinking mentality, the future is bright in Dallas.
A break-out year for Lonzo Ball is to be expected, but to what extent is where the most clouded area of this telling may lie.
One thing is certain however – GM smokey will remain active to bring this franchise alive. 
I see a much a stronger showing for the Dallas Mavericks.

Upcoming Free Agents:

1.      Nerlens Noel (RFA)

2.      Kentavious Caldwell-Pope(RFA)

3.      JR Smith (FA)

Each of these players have been great assets to the Mavericks and provide smokey with real impact in his rotations. Noel and Caldwell-Pope were both regular contributors last season and kept the team up and about. Dallas would be hoping to resign these two to continue their work at the American Airlines Center, and they should. Likewise with JR Smith, his 2k game is strong and allows for plenty of assisting minutes within rotations. These three all compliment the additions that have been made and could give smokey some selection headaches throughout the season to piece together his best squad.