While the Dallas Mavericks were widely expected to be in the bottom tier of the Western Conference coming into this season, they have found ways to remain relevant. The Mavs have gone 32-45 and were in the playoff picture as of a couple weeks ago. While that mark is still way below the standards owner Mark Cuban and company have come to expect from the Mavericks, they have shown signs of a bright future.
Last summer’s free agent acquisition of forward Harrison Barnes has panned out in a major way. Furthermore, the deal that landed young big man Nerlens Noel from the Philadelphia 76ers prior to the trade deadline has solidified two key parts of the Dallas frontcourt for years to come with the retirement of legend Dirk Nowitzki expected to come after next season.
With Barnes and Noel occupying two big niches in the frontcourt moving forward for Dallas, the backcourt could use some additional help, though the play of their backcourt tandem consisting Yogi Ferrel and Seth Curry has performed more than admirably.
Aware of this, Mark Cuban has his eyes set on adding a point guard, specifically one who’s game revolves around distributing the ball. Following from Eddie Sefko of Sports Day Dallas:
“We got to get better at point, there’s no question,” Cuban said. “If we can’t do it in the draft, we’ll look at free agency and see what we can do. Yogi is going to get better. Seth will continue to get better. I’d love to see Nico [Brussino] play some point forward and see how that works. He’s probably one of our best passers.
“We’ll have depth, but we have to get that one pass-first point guard. That’s what we don’t have.”
Cuban has a point in saying they need a pass-first point in Dallas. With an array of scorers such as Wesley Matthews, Harrison Barnes, and even Seth Curry, adding someone to run the show could pay huge dividends. Though Yogi Ferrell has shown flashes of being a long-term starter in this league, the ability to run a team isn’t quite there yet for the rookie. Look for the Mavericks to be active on the point guard market all summer long.
