NBA training camp is upon us. We’re in full “best shape of my life” season, and SQ Sports is no different, pounding out premium NBA preview content throughout the next few weeks.

We continue our team preview series with the Dallas Mavericks.

2018-19 Finish: 33-49, 14th in West

Who’s in: Isaiah Roby (45h overall pick), Seth Curry (free agency), Boban Marjanovic (free agency), Dakota Mathias (free agency), Antonius Cleveland (two-way)

Who’s out: Dirk Nowitzki (retired), Salah Mejri (overseas), Devin Harris (un-signed), Ray Spalding (ATL), Kostas Antetokounmpo (LAL)

Starters

PG – Delon Wright

SG – Luka Doncic

SF – Dorian Finney-Smith

PF – Kristaps Porzingis

C – Dwight Powell

Bench: Maxi Kleber, Jalen Brunson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Seth Curry, Boban Marjanovic, J.J. Barea, Justin Jackson, Courtney Lee, Ryan Broekhoff

Sneaky Breakout Candidate: Delon Wright was a big part of Toronto’s top of the line bench mob in 2017-18, but couldn’t get it going for the eventual champs last year, eventually being sent to Memphis as part of the Marc Gasol trade. He slots in as a nice secondary creator and defender in the backcourt next to Luka Doncic, and if his jumper can return to its 2018 level, he could be a very important piece for Dallas over the next few years.

What Happened Last Year?

Dallas looked spooky through the first seven weeks of the last season, gunning out to a 15-11 start, but fizzled out by the end of January. They decided to capitalize on Kristaps Porzingis’ unhappiness with the Knicks, sending out three starters and two first round draft picks for Porzingis and bad New York salary, essentially punting on the rest of the regular season. Luka Doncic had one of the best rookie seasons ever, averaging 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game, cruising to the Rookie of the Year trophy.

2019-20 Analysis

Dallas has been bold in the transaction market over the last 16 months, and they’re going to reap the benefits of that aggression for the first time this season. There’s young star power and depth to boot. The Mavs’ solar system consists of two gigantic planets with a bunch of smaller ones orbiting. They’ve brought in a good mix of continuity and fresh blood, rare in today’s league after such a volatile summer.

How many teenagers have displayed Luka Doncic’s proficiency as a lead handler? Rookie Lebron? Doncic is a sturdy 6’8″ with every trick in the book, the court vision of a ten year vet and a propensity for showing up in big moments. He produced at a near all-star level in his first season, despite a massive roster turnaround midseason and a lack of additional playmakers around him. He uses his off-the-dribble shooting ability to lure help defenders toward him as teammates flock to the rim for easy looks. Everything about Doncic’s offensive game is polished. Defensively, Luka struggles matching up with quicker guys on the perimeter, and offers little in terms of an interior presence, but he’s intelligent and alert enough to hold his own, and has the size to not be a complete liability on that end when it matters. He’ll never be elite on defense. But he does enough to be passable, like so many other stars in this league do. Doncic’s ceiling is All-NBA level. He’s that good. Much respect to Trae Young and Cam Reddish, but Dallas hit a home run trading up last June. With a year under his belt and a full offseason to slim down and condition himself, Doncic could make the leap to become a first time all-star this year, and has an outside of shot at making All-NBA already.

A healthy Kristaps Porzingis has that same ceiling, and is closer to being there than Doncic, but of course, we just have to see. In theory, though, KP and Doncic is a nearly unstoppable offensive pairing. A Doncic-Porzingis pick and roll with floor spacers surrounding them is the nucleus of an high-voltage offense. Porzingis can create for himself too; few bigs have the fluidity he has as a handler, and he was starting to master those Dirk-like mid range fades before he went down. He’s never played with a player like Luka. That Porzingis was able to assimilate into Dallas’ culture for the last two months of the season should help shallow some of the issues we often see with high usage additions. Defensively, Porzingis is flexible enough to play the 4 and the 5, though his ability to stick to quicker forwards was already questionable and will be tested aggressively early on. Lineups with Porzingis and Dwight Powell have enough shooting and switch-ability to work, but when it matters, KP will be at the 5. Dallas is going to be conservative regarding his minutes, a wise long-term decision but one that might put a cap on their 2019-20 regular season hopes.

The remaining roster is balanced, although the Mavs could stand to add a definitively upper-tier wing rotational piece. Delon Wright can do the secondary ball handler things he shined doing in 2017-18. Tim Hardaway Jr. is overpaid and a bit overzealous as a shooter, but he’s capable of hitting shots off the dribble, hitting 39% of his total pull up shots and 37% of his pull up threes, per NBA.com. When teams throw doubles at Luka and Porzingis, having a guy who can catch the ball and create anything is vital. Seth Curry will feast off of looks from Doncic (he shot 49% (!!!) on catch and shoot threes in 2019, per Second Spectrum). Dorian Finney-Smith’s shooting cratered in the second half of the season, but he fits the general mold of a low-usage 3&D wing, along with Justin Jackson, who quietly made strides in his second season. Jalen Brunson will play steady backup point guard minutes for the next 10 years. Maxi Kleber, fresh off inking a new long term extension, is a fascinating fit next to Porzingis, as a bizarro 3-and-D rim protector who can breezily switch to defend the perimeter while simultaneously pinning unsuspecting finishers at the rim. He gives Dallas a lineup wrinkle most teams will struggle to counter. Boban is a meme, but he really can be devastating when he’s not matched up with a center who creates in space. I still have faith that Courtney Lee can contribute, but at worst he’s a big expiring who can be used in a deal to acquire another piece.

Record Prediction: 43-39

The Final Line: Dallas has its nucleus in place with Doncic and Porzingis, and they’ve done a pretty decent job surrounding those two with role players that fit their styles of play. It will probably take some time to fully ingrain KP into the lineup, and his health is obviously still a big question mark, but Dallas projects to be one of the deepest teams in the league with two bonafide stars. They’ll be in the hunt for a low playoff seed in the West.