Getty Russell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Two things might be true about this upcoming NBA season. One: it’s going to be a fun season, with the league deeper this season than any other of the last two decades or so. Two: the Dallas Mavericks could be major losers in a deeper league.
Given how loaded both conferences are, it’s perhaps even more imperative than ever before for teams to get out to a quick start. Throw in generational, other-worldly talent Victor Wembanyama waiting for one lucky (and horrible) lottery winner, and this season has enough storylines to get its own HBO special.
According to one Western Conference executive who spoke with Heavy.com insider Sean Deveney, Dallas might be one of those slow teams. And if so, the front office might have some discussions about “clearing its books” — even if means swallowing a $206 million pill in the process.
“There is going to be a team that comes out and just has a sh** season. Someone gets hurt, someone doesn’t play well, someone else gets hurt and it’s a mess. That is the kind of team that would look at its bad contracts and maybe want to clear them out. So that’s the possibility there. If Luka [Doncic] gets hurt in Dallas and the Lakers take on Hardaway and Christian Wood for Russ without giving up a draft pick, something like that. Dallas can clear its books a little.”
If it sounds far-fetched, think again. This season is bound to yield a few surprises come playoff time.
Are the Mavericks in Danger of Only Making Play-in Tournament?
At some point next spring, the NBA world will be left scratching its collective head asking “how’d [insert team here] finish so low?” In short: someone is bound to disappoint this season in both the Eastern and Western Conferences.
That’s not a knock against any team in particular; rather, it’s an admission that the league is wildly deep and only six teams will make the playoffs outright. Four others will be left scrounging in the play-in tournament for a spot to make the postseason. And one of those four very well could be the Dallas Mavericks.
💥 Russell Westbrook POWERS IT DOWN! #KiaTipOff22
WHAT? How? This team made the Western Conference Finals last year. Not just that, but they upset the Phoenix Suns, who were last year’s regular season equivalent of Achilles in Act I of The Illiad. But Dallas casting an arrow into Phoenix’s heel was a surprise. Dallas making the play-in would be a similar story, albeit a less-exciting one.
The Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, and Minnesota Timberwolves all “expect” to be playoff teams next season. That’s seven teams without even mentioning the Mavericks, an improved Sacramento Kings side, and a Los Angeles Lakers team that looked poor Tuesday night but still features LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
If the Mavericks don’t have what it takes to build on last year’s success, they could do worse than add an expiring Russell Westbrook contract.
Does Westbrook’s Move Make Sense for Mavericks?
Let’s begin with a few truths. First, the Mavericks are in the bottom third of the league in terms of cap allocation. Dallas is already paying $33 million in luxury tax, though they aren’t hard capped by any means. That means the team could realistically take on the last year of Westbrook’s mammoth deal, biting a temporary pain.
In return, the Mavs could do precisely what the anonymous exec told Deveney: clear its books. While Dallas doesn’t have a cadre of $30 million-plus contracts, they have a glut of high-teens deals for players that aren’t going to be the difference in a playoff series. That includes $18 million for Spencer Dinwiddie, $19 million for Tim Hardaway, Jr., $16 million for Davis Bertans, and $14 million for Christian Wood.
If the goal is to build around Luka Doncic (which it should be), the team needs money to do so. Adding Russell Westbrook would be a funky combination with Doncic, but if Los Angeles sweetens the deal with one of its first-round picks, it could be too much for Dallas to pass up. That’s doubly true if the Mavericks determine early that they aren’t really making any runs in the playoffs.