The Dallas Mavericks begin the 2024-25 season against the San Antonio Spurs in about a month, so training camp and the preseason are right around the corner.
Coming off a trip to the 2024 NBA Finals, general manager Nico Harrison was very aggressive this offseason to help the team take the final step and win a championship. Some key pieces from last season moved on, but the Mavs have reloaded.
Here’s a list of the Mavs’ offseason moves since losing to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.
Who’s out?
Josh Green
Some of these moves are connected. In order to make their biggest acquisition of the offseason, they had to give up a piece.
Less than a year after agreeing to a three-yar, $41 million extension with Green, the Mavs traded him to the Charlotte Hornets this offseason. Green was a part of the historic six-team sign-and-trade that brought Klay Thompson to Dallas.
Green averaged 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 2023-24. After 33 starts in the regular season, he came off the bench as a key piece in the playoffs. The Mavs selected Green 18th overall in the 2020 NBA draft.
Derrick Jones Jr.
Nico Harrison had said re-signing Jones was “priority 1A and 1B.” Sometimes, plans can change.
After betting on himself and signing with the Mavs on a one-year deal worth $2 million, Jones cashed in with a three-year, $30 million deal with the Los Angeles Clippers.
The 27-year-old started 66 regular season games for Dallas last season and every game in the postseason. Jones played a key role in the Mavs’ Finals run as the team’s best defender and an outstanding lob threat. He averaged career-highs in points (8.6) and 3-point percentage (34%). His offensive improvement along with his strong defense made him a valuable piece in free agency.
Tim Hardaway Jr.
Hardaway was entering the final year of a four-year, $75 million contract. He joined the Mavericks during the 2018-19 season as a part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade and averaged 15.2 points as a Maverick.
In his final season in Dallas, Hardaway was primarily a sixth man off the bench and averaged 14.4 points. But after Dallas acquired P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford at the trade deadline, Hardaway’s role significantly decreased.
That role decreased even more in the playoffs, as he averaged just 4.4 points in 12.7 minutes a night. Given how much his role lessened as the season went on, parting ways with Dallas this offseason seemed inevitable.
Who’s in?
Naji Marshall
Marshall was the Mavs’ first move invthe negotiating period of free agency, signing with Dallas on a three-year, $27 million deal.
He was mentioned as a possible option for Dallas if Derrick Jones Jr. could not be retained. As it turns out, Marshall signed with Dallas before Jones had signed with the Clippers. The 6-7 forward averaged 7.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists with the Pelicans. Marshall will be asked to play a similar role that Jones played for Dallas last season, providing toughness and length on defense.
Marshall is a 3-and-D wing whose 3-point shooting took a big step last season. He shot a career-high 38.7% from long distance, including 41% on catch-and-shoot attempts. His 6-foot-7 height with his 7-foot-1 wingspan makes the Mavs’ defense that much longer and more athletic.
Klay Thompson
Thompson was brought to Dallas in the aforementioned sign-and-trade that sent Josh Green to the Hornets. The five-time All-Star guard agreed to a three-year, $50 million deal to come to the Mavericks.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Thompson had four-year offers for more money, but took less money to come to Dallas given the Mavs’ championship aspirations and difference in state taxes.
Thompson was a top piece of the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty that saw four championships in eight seasons. Him and Stephen Curry were known as the Splash Brothers due to their historically good shooting. While Curry is the face of the Warriors’ dynasty, Thompson had Hall of Fame-type career with Golden State.
In his 11 years with the Warriors, he made an All-Defensive team, two All-NBA teams and five All-Star teams. Despite a bitter end to his tenure with Golden State, in which Thompson went scoreless in a loss to the Kings in the Play-In Tournament, he still averaged 17.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 77 games last season. His 38.7% 3-point shooting would have ranked third on the Mavs in 2023-24.
Thompson will be a third scoring option to complement Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Quentin Grimes
Grimes was a part of the aforementioned Tim Hardaway Jr. trade. After spending three years with the Knicks, Grimes was traded to Detroit this past season.
His Pistons tenure was brief, as he played in just six games for Detroit due to an injury.
For his career, he averages 8.5 points and is a 37.1% 3-point shooter. The 6-5 guard is expected to play a somewhat similar 3-and-D role that Josh Green did, providing energy and defense off the bench. His length as a wing allows him to defend multiple positions.
Grimes is entering the final season of his rookie contract and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the 2024-25 season.
Spencer Dinwiddie
The Mavs also brought back a familiar face this offseason.
Dinwiddie signed with Dallas on a one-year deal, bringing the guard back for a second stint with the team.
Dinwiddie first was a part of the Mavs’ return for Kristaps Porzingis in a trade with the Wizards in 2022 and was a part of the Mavericks’ run to the Western Conference finals that season. In 76 games over two seasons with the Mavericks, Dinwiddie averaged 17.1 points and 4.9 assists.
His first stint with Dallas ended in 2023 when he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets as a part of the trade that brought Kyrie Irving to Dallas.
Last season, playing for both the Nets and Los Angeles Lakers, Dinwiddie averaged 10.5 points, 4.7 assists and 2.7 rebounds a night. The 31-year-old guard will provide scoring depth behind Doncic and Irving.
Melvin Ajinca
The 6-8 Frenchman was selected 51st overall by the Mavericks in the 2024 NBA draft. Dallas moved up from their pick at No. 58 to select Ajinca, sending the Knicks cash considerations and the No. 58 pick.
Ajinca is a 20-year-old who spent last season with Saint-Quentin, a team in France’s top league. He averaged 9.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in 30 games.
When playing for Mavs assistant coach Jared Dudley in the Summer League, Ajinca played his way into the starting lineup. While he is technically one of the Mavs’ 2024 offseason additions, he could possibly be a draft-and-stash prospect who stays in France to continue his development as a versatile wing.
Kessler Edwards
Edwards, a former Kings forward, signed a two-way contract with the Mavericks.
He spent the last three seasons with Sacramento and Brooklyn. Edwards has averaged 3.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game, and was a second-round pick for the Nets in the 2021 NBA draft.
Edwards and Brandon Williams are Dallas’ players on two-way contracts heading into training camp.
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