Top Offseason Priorities for Dallas Mavericks After NBA Finals Loss to Boston Celtics (2024)

After a rollicking run to the 2024 NBA Finals that nobody saw coming, the Dallas Mavericks' season is officially over.

That means the time has come for organizational reflection, which in turn means it's time for us to dust off our general-manager hats, beanies, fedoras, visors, berets and/or boaters.

Not everyone will be ready for this exercise. The Mavs just got gut-punched and reality-checked by a truly great, potentially generational Boston Celtics team.

Some will need to let the loss marinate for a minute before tackling offseason questions, decisions, needs and crossroads. Others, meanwhile, should be forced to sit this out until a not-insignificant amount of time has passed.

Anyone calling for Dallas to blow it up or go truly nuclear is imprisoned by the moment and needs a few seconds to chill.

The rest of us are here to take the level-headed view: These Mavs remain a success story for how they remade the roster and their identity midstream. They are flawed, no doubt. The Finals proved as much. But they are a success story all the same.

This will drive how we map out what's next—right along with Dallas' cap sheet and the trade assets at its disposal.

Though the Mavs have a relatively low-stakes crop of potential and soon-to-be free agents, they need to address a few notable contract situations. Let's kick things off with their non-guaranteed deals.

Dante Exum and A.J. Lawson both have fully non-guaranteed salaries for next season, while Jaden Hardy is on the books for $400,000 guaranteed.

Two of these decisions are no-brainers.

Hardy needs to be back. He has yet to take on a prominent role within the rotation but showed flashes when his minutes were expanded in the semifinals and conference finals.

While the 21-year-old remains more combo guard than playmaking maestro, he has provided glimpses of more patient, accurate and less predictable passing. And his scoring armory is punctuated by downhill shiftiness and scalable shooting.

Bringing back Exum should be a similarly easy decision. His minutes have evaporated during the playoffs thanks in large part to an unreliable outside stroke. But he's fit to ferry a defensive workload that spans both guard spots as well as some wings and forwards.

Even if the Mavs don't view the 28-year-old as a 16-game player, regular-season innings eaters have value, and he showed enough this past year to consider his $3.2 million salary team-friendly.

Dallas could go either way on Lawson without impacting its trajectory, but I'd keep him around. His contract brings the team to 13 roster spots, and he boasts some downhill and open-floor thrust.

If the Mavs wind up needing the extra depth-chart flexibility, his salary doesn't fully guarantee until Jan. 7 of next year.

Determining how much spending power the Mavs can access is a layered process. They essentially enter the offseason right at the luxury-tax line, so their best tool profiles as the $5.2 million mini mid-level exception—for the moment.

Accessing the non-taxpayer mid-level exception would go a long way. It's worth a projected $12.9 million and can be used to sign or land a player via trade.

But using the bigger MLE hard caps the Mavs at the first tax apron ($179 million). Assuming they guarantee deals for Dante Exum, Jaden Hardy and A.J. Lawson, they'll need, at minimum, a little over $7 million in additional runway to fit that money into their cap sheet. And that's without accounting for any additional moves.

Is Dallas willing to compensate a cap-space team to swallow Tim Hardaway Jr.'s $16.2 million expiring salary? What would it even take to do so? One second? Two seconds? More?

And if the Mavs are exploring THJ salary dumps, should they prioritize getting back a smaller salary in return? Or are they better served lopping off all of his money in an attempt to access both the bigger MLE and $4.7 million biannual exception?

These questions need swift answers. Not just because free agency is right around the corner, but also because Dallas will need an exception to re-sign one of its own.

Speaking of which...

Re-signing Derrick Jones Jr. may end up topping the Mavs' to-do list this offseason.

Sure, his shooting will always be an issue. It came crashing down after a hot regular-season start and then cooled off again in the Finals. But he continues to handle some of the toughest perimeter defensive responsibilities.

Granted, Dallas will have to get lucky, creative, aggressive or some combination of all three to keep him. Without his Bird rights, the Mavs can only offer him a 120 percent raise before needing to tapping into cap space or an exception.

Peddling a non-Bird-rights increase probably won't fly when Jones is coming off a minimum contract. And without any cap space, this leaves Dallas to use all or part of an exception to retain him.

As mentioned, the Mavs' exception access will vary depending on how aggressive they're willing to be. If the mini MLE is enough to bag the 27-year-old, they should have zero qualms about reinvesting in him. Things get dicier if he commands more.

Dallas can almost assuredly swing a Tim Hardaway Jr. trade that both shaves dollar signs off the bottom line and arms it with the bigger mid-level, if not also the biannual exception.

But is Jones worth all or a huge chunk of the $12.9 million MLE? And is the opportunity cost of offloading money worth it to retain an important-but-not-ideal fifth starter? Could there be a scenario in which Jones takes the non-Bird raise and gets an Early Bird-rights bump from the Mavs in 2025?

Figuring this out isn't solely about Jones' future. It will shape pretty much everything and anything Dallas can do in free agency.

1. Two-Way Wing

Unless the Mavs look to go nuclear, their core lineup has four locks: Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving, P.J. Washington and either Dereck Lively II or Daniel Gafford. Even though retaining Derrick Jones Jr. should be considered critical, scouring the trade and free-agency markets for overall upgrades has to top the wish list.

Someone who can approximate DJJ's defensive malleability while opening up the floor with higher volume and efficiency from behind the rainbow would be ideal. But the same thing can be said for virtually every other team, and Dallas no longer has the assets or cap flexibility to win sweepstakes on the trade or free-agency markets.

This isn't to say the Mavs can't bag a two-way wing. It just may have to settle for skewing toward singular needs.

2. Perimeter Shooting

Stretching defenses around Dončić and Irving feels like the most important offseason item if Dallas can't roll multiple wishes into one player. And finding the right fit isn't merely about percentages. Volume and shot context matter.

Jones and Dante Exum (largely) exceeded long-range expectations this season. But neither cleared five attempts per 36 minutes. Luka, Kyrie, Washington and Tim Hardaway Jr. were the only every-night rotation players to hit that benchmark—and THJ is no longer an every-night rotation player.

Leaning on Jaden Hardy more could help. He has outside touch and the ability to put defenses in rotation with a live dribble. But the Mavs need someone who does that and has the size to plop into lineups with Dončić and Irving.

3. Off-the-Dribble Creation

Hardy's development again looms large here. He can give Dallas a third consistent attacker off the dribble. But the Mavs may want to poke around for someone with more size (to, again, play with Luka and Kyrie) and more proven playmaking chops.

Washington, for his part, might be able to shoulder some more face-up reps. He's not going to check the facilitative box. And in a perfect world, Dallas is adding someone with the blow-by speed or directional handles to create better separation against set defenses.

4. Finishing Touches on Four- and Five-Out Lineups

Five-out arrangements don't project to be a huge part of the Mavs' program so long as they have both Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford on the docket. Still, certain matchups will encourage it, if not demand it.

Maxi Kleber used to be the skeleton key here. He's not anymore—at either end.

Washington can sponge up reps at the 5, but Dallas needs to bolster combinations that would deploy him at its de facto center. (He logged just 28 possessions as the lone "big" after coming over from Charlotte.)

Luka and Kyrie are locked in any sort of five-out makeup. Including one of Jones or Exum is fine—assuming they're back and the Mavs are willing to bend the boundaries of what qualifies as five-out. This still leaves one spot open, at minimum, for a different stretch 5 or combo forward/wing who lets Washington slide up to center.

These are all players the Mavs should be open to targeting relative to their biggest needs.

We'll separate them into prospective spending buckets. If a player appears under the "non-taxpayer mid-level exception" tier, it does not mean he'll net the entire $12.9 million, just that he should fetch more than the mini MLE or BAE.

Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Targets

Mini Mid-Level Exception / Bi-Annual Exception Targets

Minimum Contract Targets

Bringing in P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford winnowed down the Mavs' asset armory, but they're far from barren. They can flip two first-rounders after the draft (2025 and 2031) and have two swaps (2026 and 2028) to bake in as well.

Entering the highest-end discussions will demand putting Dereck Lively II on the table, which the Mavs shouldn't do. But they have Josh Green, Jaden Hardy and Olivier Maxence-Prosper to sweeten various pots. Second-round picks from Toronto (2025) and Miami (2028) are intriguing throw-ins.

Salary-matching without knifing into the core of Lively, Washington, Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving is eminently feasible. Even if you add Gafford into that mix, Dallas has Tim Hardaway Jr.'s expiring contract ($16.2 million) to go along with reasonable deals for Maxi Kleber (two years, $22 million) and Josh Green (three years, $41 million). The Mavs are also far enough below the second apron that "hard-capping" themselves to the Supertax by aggregating players shouldn't be an issue.

Consolidating into a singular target with their top-of-the-line offer feels unlikely. It's not entirely clear what a package of, say, two firsts, O-Max and salary gets you. That's not nearly enough for Mikal Bridges or Lauri Markkanen. Does it get you Deni Avdija? Do the Mavs have the pockets to go after Jerami Grant (four years, $132.4 million)?

Someone like De'Andre Hunter (three years, $69.9 million) makes sense. Is he worth a protected 2025 first to the Mavs? Taking a flier on Andrew Wiggins (three years, $84.7 million) is worth consideration if the Golden State Warriors enter full-on salary-dumping mode, but Dallas would need a third team to offer short-term savings (and shouldn't touch these talks with a 10-mile pole if the Dubs want real assets in return).

Old friend Dorian Finney-Smith would fit like a glove, though you run into the same "Is he worth a protected 2025 first?" question. Alex Caruso deserves a look if the cost drops below two first-rounders and the Mavs plan to re-sign him in 2025 and trust his capacity to offer a touch more playmaking.

Bogdan Bogdanović would be divine. Ayo Dosunmu has flashed enough defensive versatility and downhill playmaking and scoring to earn some thought. Going after Norman Powell has merit but (likely) requires the Los Angeles Clippers to hit the cost-cutting button and the help of a third team.

Would the Phoenix Suns consider making the freshly extended Grayson Allen available if they need to rally first-round equity for another trade? Is there a scenario in which the Minnesota Timberwolves put Naz Reid on the chopping block rather than one of their more expensive names?

Players such as T.J. McConnell or Jae'Sean Tate could help, but they won't do anything to boost floor spacing. Larry Nance Jr. would be an interesting flier if the New Orleans Pelicans view him as collateral damage of skirting the luxury tax. (Again, though, this could require a third team).

Moral of the story: The Mavs aren't in position to trade for another star or even fringe star. That's fine. They don't need that. They need complementary difference-makers. And as of now, they have just enough expendable(-ish) tools to shop around for a needle-mover or two.

Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.