Almost Perfect? Mavs Offseason Earns High Grade

Historically, the NBA offseason isn't pleasurable for Dallas Mavericks fans. For every Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic NBA Draft moment, there is a DeAndre Jordan free agency debacle or a Deron Williams/Dwight Howard miss. However, the Mavericks front office hit on all cylinders for the first time in years, leaving two NBA podcasters thoroughly impressed with the 2024 NBA Finals runner-up.

"You can make the case they got better at both ends." Grant Hughes, co-host of Hardwood Knocks, claimed of the Mavericks.

Klay Thompson is the story of the offseason, and rightfully so, but Dallas added other pieces to tighten their defense. The additions of Nashi Marshall and Quentin Grimes theoretically improved guard and wing defense, helping soften the loss of Derrick Jones Jr. to the Los Angeles Clippers.

"You're going to need to talk me down from an A+. What did they do wrong?" said Dan Favale, the other podcast co-host.

Favale stated that getting Thompson for less than what the Los Angeles Lakers offered the Golden State Warriors free agent renders a plus move. Also, "finagling" Jones into Marshall and Grimes was a win. Favale said only two other teams in the NBA had as good or better offseason than the Mavericks.

"Every move is positive; it's just about how positive," Grant said before changing his grade for the Mavericks. Favale's case sounded proficient enough that Grant was influenced to upgrade his grade from an A to an A+.

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Dallas has the respect of hardcore NBA analysts and writers for its outstanding summer; now, it has to translate the paper's success to the on-court variety.