The Dallas Mavericks are entering uncertain times after getting burned by DeAndre Jordan. While the loss of one player might not be totally damaging, the Mavericks were counting on Jordan to get them through a very competitive Western Conference. Now the team has a starting lineup filled with two players coming off offseason surgery, an aging veteran and inconsistent players like Zaza Pachulia and Deron Williams. That does not win the team the West. With Nowitzki reaching the end of his career, what road do the Mavericks take?
While it will not happen, there are cries for the Mavericks to trade Nowitzki and rebuild. The current lineup for Dallas does not have them getting past the No.5 seed. After getting swept out of last year's playoffs, the Mavericks were aiming for different results and this lineup does not get it done. Nowitzki is reaching the end of his career and as RantSports.com points out, he deserves another shot at a championship. The forward has two years remaining on his contract, the second year being a player option. He is easily tradeable and would get Dallas a lot in return.
The Mavericks gave up a first-round draft pick in 2016 to acquire Rajon Rondo in a deal that turned out to be a failure. Dealing Nowitzki gets the team that pick back. Dallas has players they can begin to build around with Chandler Parsons and Wesley Matthews in the future. Both players in the short-term are busy recovering from surgeries and might not be ready to go at the start of the year. The short-term outlook for Dallas is not positive, but the long-term could bring good things if they make moves now.
Nowitzki is going nowhere. After losing Jordan there is no way that owner Mark Cuban gives up his franchise star. Instead, the Mavericks are still eyeing free agents to bring onto the roster. According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, the Mavericks are being linked to deals for JaVale McGee, Elton Brand and potentially Josh Smith to come off the bench in place of Nowitzki. They would certainly help the Mavericks to join a bench that also includes JJ Barea and Devin Harris. Cuban is not losing confidence in the team Dallas has entering the season, but the state of the West does not bode well for them.
