Dallas Mavericks: Built for Now or the Future?

The Dallas Mavericks should be among the best teams in the NBA this season. In consecutive seasons, they’ve had winning records and made the playoffs.

While it’s been no easy accomplishment to get to that point, it’s time for the Mavericks to take that next step. Luka Doncic signed a supermax extension over the summer, showing commitment to the front office that he’s ready to build something special in Dallas.

Still just 22 years old, Doncic is a special talent. At such a young age, he’s already shown that he can clearly be the best player on a championship team.

The question becomes whether him leading the Mavericks to the NBA Finals is something that can be accomplished right now, or further down the road.

Dallas has a ton of talent now and will likely be one of the best teams in the entire Western Conference this season. However, the NBA is loaded with talent and teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks all have superstar trios that are quite a bit better than anything the Mavericks can currently put on the court.

Where do the Mavericks rank among their peers? Are they built to win now, or in the future?

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Future Power Rankings

In ESPN’s NBA Future Power Rankings, teams’ futures are ranked based on five key categories, including the current players on the roster, management, projected cap space, the market the team falls in and draft capital. The rankings are a projection of the on-court success expected for each team over the next three seasons, from now through the 2023-24 season.

The Mavericks are in the top half of these rankings, falling at No. 13 overall. While they don’t have great management or draft capital according to ESPN, Dallas a a market and the players they currently have on the roster are what makes them an attractive team in the future.

While being No. 13 in these rankings isn’t as high as where Dallas would like to be, they’ve got the levers to expedite their success when needed. They don’t have as much draft capital as others around the league, but they have enough to create a package to potentially acquire a new co-star for Doncic if the opportunity were to present itself.

Additionally, if cap space were to get tight down the road, they have players on large deals that could be moved and are attractive to other teams.

With this in mind, are the Mavericks best suited to win now, or are they still a few moves away from being a true contender?

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Now or Later?

Again, the Mavericks certainly have the talent to make noise in the playoffs. In fact, last season they nearly beat the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round, which would have given them a ton of momentum heading into the later rounds of the postseason.

Sometimes all it takes is a few things going your way. Just two seasons ago, the Miami Heat went to the NBA Finals after being the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. It’s not always the teams with the best records that meet in the Finals, it’s usually the teams that have a little bit of luck and are built the right way.

However, Dallas still would need quite a few things to go their way if they are truly going to win a championship in the next few years. What’s much more likely is taking a few steps forward each season, learning from their experiences, and ultimately making a few more moves before being a true championship team.

While they do have the pieces to go on a run at the right time in the postseason, the Mavericks do seem to be a team built more to compete in the future. Doncic is still growing as a player and will only get better as the years go on.

With one of the brightest futures in the NBA, the Mavericks have the luxury of being competitive now while also having a large window of contention with the age of their young stars.

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