As we head into the slowest month of the year for NBA news, die-hard NBA fans are still trying to piece together the puzzle of what the league will look like in the 2024-25 season after a crazy offseason.
However, one thing is for sure about this offseason: the Dallas Mavericks came out on top, as Dallas added talented players across the board despite losing Derrick Jones Jr., Josh Green, and Tim Hardaway Jr. Some writers and analysts still believe that Dallas will take a step back this upcoming season though, as skepticism is inevitable when drastic changes occur to a team coming off an NBA Finals appearance.
There are still people in the media who have faith in the Mavericks heading into the upcoming season, and Bleacher Report reporter Dan Favale is certainly one of those individuals, as he highlighted one key element. Reason why the Mavericks can’t be overlooked this upcoming season in his recent article, “1 Reason Not to Overlook Every NBA Team for the 2024-25 Season.”
The reason Favale didn’t overlook the Mavs was because they “improved the offense without compromising the defense.” Giving up defense for more offense can be a dangerous slippery slope for some teams, but the Mavs have definitely avoided that as their defense has remained solid and their offense has improved dramatically.
Dallas’ defense was one of their greatest strengths last year, and the Mavs avoided falling into the trap of going all-in on their offense while completely ignoring their defense.
Favale primarily cited the spacing and 3-point shooting that Thompson will provide to Dallas’ offense as the main reason the Mavericks will thrive next year, even if they suffer a slight drop in defensive efficiency due to the loss of Jones Jr. While we can’t discount a change in environment and style of play that could cause growing pains for Thompson in Dallas, it seems inevitable that he will become the perfect relief valve for Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic on offense.
While Favale only cited one reason why every team in the league shouldn’t be overlooked next season, he also wrote extensively about how Dallas’ versatility with size on their roster will pay dividends for them this upcoming season. He’s certainly not wrong either, as Dallas was able to gain even more size from the Mavericks who don’t have anyone on their main roster under 6’5″ with the exception of Irving and Jaden Hardy.
Dallas still has one of the most dynamic center rotations in the league with Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford and Maxi Kleber, and they arguably improved their size at the wing and guard positions even more this offseason.
Skeptics and Detractors are still forced to try to find reasons why this Mavericks team will fail next season, but it’s clear that this Mavericks team has an immense combination of positional size and multifaceted role players to complement players like Irving, Thompson and Doncic.
For that reason as well as the reasons provided by Favale, the Mavericks cannot be overlooked next season, but make no mistake, Dallas dodged a major bullet this offseason by Thompson deciding to join them over other suitors.
