Will Mavs Regret Not Doing More in Offseason?

According to one source, the Dallas Mavericks may regret their series of blunders this offseason.

This offseason, the Dallas Mavericks experienced some ups and downs. The team began the summer upgrading its frontcourt with the acquisition of Christian Wood, who is a double-double machine. 

A week later, though, Dallas lost its second-leading scorer Jalen Brunson to the New York Knicks in free agency on a 4-year $104 million contract. 

Since then, the team hasn't done much to replace Brunson's secondary playmaking production, as they signed JaVale McGee for center insurance and drafted Jaden Hardy, who is more of a raw scorer than a distributor at this point.

Compared to other teams in the league, national media hasn't been so kind to Dallas' decision-making this summer, as they have been labeled as having the "worst offseason." 

So what makes the Mavs' offseason different than any other team? 

Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz gives his input, as he ranks Dallas as one of five teams "that will regret their 2022 offseason."

"Losing Brunson for nothing in free agency was a huge setback," said Swartz. "Not only was Brunson second to Luka Doncic in points and assists last season, but Dallas' net rating jumped from plus-2.8 with just Doncic on the court to plus-4.4 when both star guards were in the game."

The main difference between Dallas and other teams on the list was money. Before the 2021-22 season, the Mavs had multiple opportunities to sign Brunson to a max extension. However, the team delayed negotiations and did not offer a contract until after the February 10 trade deadline … and at that point, it was too late.

What was the hold up? Was it worth losing a player of Brunson's caliber? 

"The team was likely worried about luxury-tax implications," said Swartz. "The Mavericks should have made Brunson an offer he couldn't refuse and looked to shed salary another way." 

Now, Dallas hopes to learn from past mistakes. This season, Wood is on an expiring $14.3 million contract. If the Mavs delay extending his contract, next summer could be a repeat of what we just witnessed.

For a team that’s already limited on young talent and draft capital, losing key roster pieces in free agency must be avoided. We’ll see if the Mavs have learned from their mistakes this season.

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You can follow Lorenzo Almanza on Twitter at @LorenzoAlmanza2.

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