2018-2019 Finish: 53-29

Season Highlight:

Going from the 9^th seed to the 3^rd seed in the West! Truly an impressive feat to accomplish in the span of one season to increase your wins by 15. GM smokey made the moves to bring in Russell Westbrook and Nikola Vucevic. They paid off in a big way for this team as the team exploded into the regular season.

Season Lowlight:

After the team took such a big leap, fan’s expectations were high going into the playoffs. Unfortunately, they were upset by the 6^th seeded Memphis Grizzlies. Many around the league expected Dallas to go deep into the playoffs so a first-round exit was surely upsetting.

Best Trade:

The Dallas Mavericks send JaMychal Green to the Detroit Pistons. The Dallas Mavericks send Henry Ellenson to the LA Lakers. The Detroit Pistons send Cody Zeller to the LA Lakers. The Detroit Pistons send Ryan Anderson to the New Orleans Pelicans. The LA Lakers send Nikola Vucevic to the Dallas Mavericks. The LA Lakers send Nicolas Batum to the Detroit Pistons. The New Orleans Pelicans send Evan Turner to the LA Lakers.

The Dallas Mavericks send a 2nd-Rounder (Bos) and 1st-Rounder (Det) to the LA Lakers. The Detroit Pistons send a 2nd-Rounder (OKC) to the LA Lakers.

What a great deal for Dallas! They pulled in an elite center and gave away very little. Yes, they gave away a first round pick of Detroit’s next year but Detroit is a playoff team so that pick may not be too high. A slam-dunk deal.

Worst Trade

The Brooklyn Nets send DeAndre Jordan and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to the Dallas Mavericks. The Dallas Mavericks send Steven Adams and Justise Winslow to the Brooklyn Nets.

The Brooklyn Nets send a 2nd-Rounder (Bos) to the Dallas Mavericks.

This deal isn’t even bad, smokey did a great job working the phones last season. It was only nominated as “worst” because Jordan was moved just a couple months later for Serge Ibaka.

Other Notable Trades

The Dallas Mavericks send Louis Williams to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Philadelphia 76ers send Julius Randle to the Dallas Mavericks.

The Dallas Mavericks send a 2nd-Rounder (Sac) to the Philadelphia 76ers.

A tidy little deal moving a shooter for another scoring big.

The Dallas Mavericks send Jordan Clarkson to the Golden State Warriors. The Golden State Warriors send Eric Gordon and Justise Winslow to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Dallas Mavericks send a 1st-Rounder (OKC) to the Golden State Warriors.

This is another great deal for Dallas. They moved Clarkson and a late first and got back a scorer in Eric Gordon and a player on the rise in Winslow.

Free Agency

Dallas has a lot of players looking for a new deal this season. The list includes Vucevic, Julius Randle, Rajon Rondo, Danny Green, Ivica Zubac, RHJ, Luol Deng, Antonio Blakely and Alex Caruso. That’s a lot of guys to pay. There are rumors that Russell Westbrook might actually be on the way out. If that were to happen, that could open up the wallet in Dallas to get some other guys paid. I’d look to see Vucevic as a high priority along with Randle and Zubac.

Star

Russell Westbrook. He was the engine that made this team go. He punished opposing defenses to the tune of 30.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, and 6.0 apg. He’s one of the fastest players in the league and can make a play whenever he has the ball. He shined bright in the playoff series against the Grizzlies, going off for 30/6/8. Is he actually on the way out?

Goat

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. While he started 42 games out of 70, he was primarily relegated to a backup role as Westbrook was so ball-dominant. Averaging only 8 points in the regular season is not what smokey was looking for when he was acquired. Will he be shown the door this free agency?

Draft Grades

No picks made

The Future

The future appears to be bright for this Mavericks franchise. Under smokey’s leadership, they’ve become a power out West as talented players were brought in throughout the year. If they can navigate the free agency period without losing too many key players, they very well can be seen in the playoffs again next season giving OKC and the Clippers a run for the top spot in the West!