Previewing the 2023-24 Dallas Mavericks

September 23rd, 2023

by Alan Lu

In 2022, the Dallas Mavericks had surprisingly made the Western Conference Finals, and things seemed to be on the up and up. However, last season, the Mavericks surprisingly missed both the playoffs and play-in tournament despite having superstar point forward Luka Doncic, and despite trading for Kyrie Irving during the middle of the season.

This season, they’ll be able to have a full season to integrate Doncic and Irving fully into the offense, and they’ll need to work together to get wins this year. Irving is a very talented player, but Dallas traded away a lot of defensive talent and some key role players to get him, which hurt them last season.

Getting to the playoffs is a must for Dallas in 2024. If Dallas doesn’t get to the playoffs this season, head coach Jason Kidd could be on the hot seat, and they could ill-afford to perform as poorly as they had last season.

Luka Doncic (on the right) and Kyrie Irving (on the left) will team up to lead the Dallas Mavericks into the 2023-24 NBA season.
(Photo: Sam Hodde/Getty Images, via FanSided’s The Smoking Cuban)

Star Players:

G-F Luka Dončić and G Kyrie Irving

Luka Doncic has been a tremendous player for in the NBA for quite awhile now. He is a very skilled playmaker that can haul in triple-doubles on a consistent basis, is a really good shot-maker, and he’s been known to have MVP-caliber seasons in this league.

Kyrie Irving is a very talented player that has helped win the 2016 NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he then demanded a trade after the 2017 season, and he’s bounced around from team to team since, and has had various off-court issues. He hasn’t always meshed with his teams or teammates, but he’s still a really talented, capable point guard, and Dallas will need to find a way to get the most out of him to allow them to get to the playoffs this season.

Additions:

F Grant Williams, G Seth Curry, C Richaun Holmes, C Dereck Lively II, F Olivier-Maxence Prosper, and G Mike Miles Jr.

The Dallas Mavericks were able to add a tough, hard-nosed 3 and D forward in Grant Williams, as they signed him away from Boston, and they added a sharpshooter off the bench in Seth Curry. They also added Holmes and Lively to give them some rim protection off the bench, and Olivier-Maxence Prosper is an athletic, combo forward that could project into a 3 and D role for their team.

Subtractions:

C Christian Wood, G-F Reggie Bullock, C JaVale McGee, and F Dāvis Bertāns

The Mavericks will be a losing a slew of role players, and they lost a couple of shooters and athletic rim protectors that played key roles for their team. Perhaps the most surprising one is that they chose not to re-sign Christian Wood, an athletic rim-protector that has put up solid numbers despite bouncing from team to team across the years, but they were able to get Lively in the draft and they also traded to get Holmes in the offseason.

Rookies:

C Dereck Lively II, F Olivier-Maxence Prosper, and G Mike Miles Jr.

The Mavericks have some talented rookies on their team, and a couple of them could end up in the rotation this year. Lively is an athletic rim protector that has a promising jump shot, even if he wasn’t able to show much on offense at Duke last year. Prosper is an athletic, energetic combo forward that boasts having great defensive potential. Miles is a skilled playmaker that could project to be a solid role player in this league.

Expected Rotation:

Luka Doncic is one of the best players in the NBA game today, and Dallas could go as far as he and Irving can take them in 2024.
(Photo: Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images, via SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball)

The Dallas Mavericks have front-end talent, as they have Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. However, the main issue is that they have a heliocentric offense built around the talents of Luka, but they’ll have to do a better job of integrating Kyrie and others into the fold so they can diversify their offense. Also, the Kyrie trade depleted their defensive talents, so they now have to figure out how to get back to playing effective defense.

Projected Starting Lineup:

C Dwight Powell

F Grant Williams

F Luka Dončić

G Tim Hardaway Jr.

G Kyrie Irving

Key Bench Players:

Seth Curry will be playing for the Dallas Mavericks once again, and he is a sharpshooter that will give his team a boost offensively off the bench.
(Photo: Jerome Miron/USA Today Sports, via SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball)

If the Mavericks can get their chemistry, they may have been able to beef up their depth to give them more options to at least allow them to manage the regular season. They’ll need to elevate their game come playoff time, but they should have enough contributors to help them in the regular season.

G-F Josh Green

G Seth Curry

F Maxi Kleber

C Richaun Holmes

G-F Derrick Jones Jr.

The Rest of the Roster:

C Dereck Lively II

G Jaden Hardy

F Olivier-Maxence Prosper

G-F A.J. Lawson (Two-Way)

G Mike Miles Jr. (Two-Way)

F-C Markieff Morris

G Dante Exum

Others in Camp:

G Jordan Walker (Exhibit 10)

G-F Joe Wieskamp (Exhibit 10)

F Greg Brown III (Exhibit 10)

Head Coach:

2022 was a very good year for Dallas Mavericks’ head coach Jason Kidd, but 2023 was a very bad year for him, as they missed the playoffs last season. They’ll look to rebound this year.
(Photo: Petre Thomas/USA Today Sports, via FanSided’s The Smoking Cuban)

Jason Kidd
2022-23 (DAL): 38-44, missed the playoffs
Coaching Career: 273-264, 18-24 in the NBA Playoffs

After having surprisingly made it to the 2022 Western Conference Finals, the Mavericks were supposed to make another playoff run last year. However, after they got off to a rather slow start, they opted to try to trade for Kyrie Irving, but the Mavericks ended up missing the playoffs, and didn’t even make the play-in tournament. The Mavericks’ defense fell off, and Jason Kidd did a poor job of coaching his team last season, as he’ll need to do a much better job this year.

Outlook:

The Dallas Mavericks have a talented team that could be capable of making a deep playoff run, but they also could easily just as well miss the playoffs, as they are one of the biggest wildcard teams in the NBA in this season.
(Photo: Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

The Dallas Mavericks have Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, and they have a potent offensive attack that could theoretically allow them to have a dynamic offense for the upcoming season. However, they will need to find ways to allow Kyrie and others to find their way into the flow of the offense, and they’ll need to improve their defense. Otherwise, they could be doomed to disappoint once again in the very difficult Western Conference.

Projected 2023-24 Finish:
Projected Regular Season Finish: 5th in the Western Conference
Expected Playoff Finish: Projected to lose in the 2nd Round
2023-24 Preseason NBA Power Ranking: 11

I went to Basketball-Reference and No-Trade Clause to look up some information for this write-up. It will be an exciting basketball season this year, and I’m looking forward to seeing the in-season tournament to see how that will unfold. Anyways, that is my write-up on my preview of the 2023-24 Dallas Mavericks. Thanks for reading.