Sure, the Thunder managed to re-sign Paul George but calling it the best off-season move would be a mistake. There’s no uncertainty about PG’s talent as a player but after watching his poor chemistry with Westbrook last season, not to mention his inconsistency throughout the season especially in the playoffs, which cost them a First round exit against a team led by a Rookie, one could not help but vacillate about the Thunder as a championship contender.
Although, Dallas on the other hand have not been able to sign a max-worthy veteran yet, their moves are laudable enough to sustain them in the long run. After drafting Dennis Smith Jr. with their 9th pick last year, the Mavericks took their first solid step towards a healthy future. Even though Dallas ended their season as the 13th seed, Smith’s performance in his rookie season was praiseworthy as he averaged 15 PTS and 5 AST to make it to the All-Rookie 2nd team.
Fast forward to this year’s NBA draft, the Mavericks who selected Trae Young with their 5th overall pick traded him in a blink of an eye to Atlanta in exchange for the Euro-league superstar ‘Luka Doncic’. Doncic, who recently won Slovenia their first Euro league tournament also became the youngest player to win a Euro League MVP and the Euro League Finals Four MVP. With such a talent on the roster along with a promising talent in Dennis Jr., the future is already looking bright for the Mavericks organization. But the Off-season is far from over for the franchise as last night they had DeAndre Jordan commit to a one-year $24.1 million verbal contract which is soon to be signed by the veteran.
Deandre, who averaged 15.2 RB & had 0.645 FG% this season, finished 2nd in the league in both Rebounds and FG%. Having such an elite presence is not only going to be beneficial to the team on-court but they also have a great locker room leader in Jordan.
Although these moves are a long-shot in pursuing the championship title, but for now it looks like Dallas is moving in the right direction.
Leave a Reply