Mavericks offseason primer: How to bridge the gap to first place

Close. Very close. But not quite.

Successfully taking a chance on restarting Kyrie Irving’s career opened up a title window for the Dallas Mavericks, who rode the combination of his rejuvenation and the continued brilliance of Luka Doncic all the way to the 2024 NBA Finals. And had Luka been entirely fit, perhaps they could have put up more of a challenge. As it is, a Game 5 loss to the Boston Celtics on Monday night saw the Mavericks have to settle for a Western Conference title, and status as best of the rest.

Aside from one Game 4 blowout, the gap between the Celtics and Mavericks was apparent during the Finals. As excellent as Dallas’s front two offensive players are, there is a big gap to the third, and bench contributions also dried up as the playoffs went along. Nonetheless, with almost everyone that matters under some measure of team control, and some promising young pieces (in particular Dereck Lively) that will offer internal growth in the coming season, the Mavericks are well placed this offseason to try and bridge that gap.

With this in mind, here follows a look at the Dallas Mavericks’ roster and spending heading into the 2024 NBA offseason.