The Dallas Mavericks made their first offseason additions through the NBA Draft on Thursday night.
The team ended up with two first-round picks and added Duke center Dereck Lively II (12th overall) and Marquette forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper (24th overall).
But did these additions help the roster improve?
Dallas’ most significant issues as it faltered down the stretch last season were defense and rebounding. The Mavericks finished the 2022-23 season last in rebounds per game, near the bottom of the league in rebounding percentage, and in the middle of the pack defensively — allowing 114.1 points per game.
Since the season ended, the team’s front office has made it known that he plans to address those problems in the offseason.
“I think if you’re a true Mavericks fan or even as a player for the Mavs, you understood what we needed to be a better team,” Vice President of Basketball Operations Michael Finley told the media Thursday.
“Whether that was [adding] players with more of a defensive mindset or our current players getting better defensively, we understood that was something that we wanted to improve on last year.”
Both players the team drafted Thursday fit the mold of athletic players with defensive prowess, and general manager Nico Harrison believes they possess those skills in such an elite way that they could crack the lineup quickly.
“I think their athleticism and their defensive ability will get them on the floor right away,” he told the media after the draft. “…They’re long and athletic and lead with defense and don’t need the ball to be contributors.”
Both Lively II and Prosper are works in progress offensively, but the team believes those skills will develop as they mature and adjust to the NBA game.
“We’re going to start with defense, and the offense will come as it develops,” Harrison remarked. “…They both love defense. Everything they do starts on defense, and they know that’s the thing that’s going to get them in the lineup.”
The Mavericks acquired both players through trades while dumping the contract of forward Davis Bertans, who is guaranteed $22 million over the next two seasons and only played 67 games during two years in Dallas. Dallas also added veteran center Richaun Holmes and gained both a $17 million Traded Player Exception and a full mid-level exception.
The Traded Player Exception allowed Dallas to take on Holmes’ contract, while the mid-level exception can be used to add another player this offseason.
Due to NBA rules, the Mavericks have not been allowed to comment on Holmes’s addition since the trade has not been officially completed.
The Mavericks will hold a press conference introducing Lively II and Prosper at 2:30 p.m. on Monday.
Dallas also signed former TCU and Lancaster High School star Mike Miles to a two-way contract as an undrafted free agent.
Miles was the leading scorer for the Horned Frogs the past two seasons and was named the Big 12’s Preseason Player of the Year before last season. He brings a savvy scoring ability with intensity and toughness on the defensive end of the floor that should give him a chance to help the team.
So did the Mavericks improve their roster on Thursday? From what the front office has told us of their goals for this offseason, yes, they did. They added the type of younger, more athletic, defensive-minded players that the team needed to be able to address its weakest areas.
“We’re excited about it,” Harrison told the media after the draft. “We think, if you look at the two guys, they solve needs that we’ve been trying to solve. Defensively [and] athletically, they’re long. They’re both high-character guys…They were both players that we liked and the fact that we were able to get back in and get both of them was amazing.”
“We’re really excited,” he added. “We feel like we killed the draft.”
NBA Draft Notes
— Twin brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson became the first brothers selected in the top five of the same draft. Amen was selected fourth overall by the Houston Rockets, while the Detroit Pistons took Ausar fifth.
— The Rockets also added Villanova forward Cam Whitmore, who was a projected top-10 pick and fell all the way to No.20.
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