The Dallas Mavericks have been very active during this free agency period. The Mavs signed Knicks forward Reggie Bullock and Rockets forward Sterling Brown to add to the team. On top of that, the Mavericks re-signed Jalen Brunson and Boban Marjanovic t new deals.
The biggest deal they executed was re-signing All-Star Luka Doncic to a five-year, $207 million contract extension. Retaining Luka means they get another five years to build a championship contender around their centerpiece figure in Doncic. But the Mavericks, despite their work, haven't signed a second complimentary star for Luka Doncic to rely upon.
Over the last few seasons, Doncic has proven that he is a bonafide superstar in the NBA, and could be the Mavericks' franchise cornerstone like his predecessor Dirk Nowitzki was. But what has also been seen is that he doesn't have a reliable complementary star. The Mavericks had brought in Kristaps Porzingis to be that star, but his injury issues along with his inconsistent form have rendered him an ineffective second option for the Mavs.
Doncic's performance in the 2021 NBA Playoffs showed that he can carry the Mavericks, but he needs another star with him to ensure that the Mavericks find some serious success in the future. And while Bullock and Brown will be good rotation pieces, the Mavericks haven't made a move that strengthens them significantly.
But that's not how Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban sees the team's business during free agency. Mark Cuban noted that the team has become a lot stronger after they made their transactions during the free agency period. But fans were quick to respond in the comments to dispute Cuban's claim. Fans disagreed with Mark Cuban, and we use some of the best comments from Sideline Source to show what fans think about it.
"I think we've improved our team considerably"
Clearly Cuban does not share the same opinion as the rest of the NBA world. Perhaps Cuban can help execute a trade to bring another superstar to the Mavs. But it looks more likely that the Mavericks are done in the market, with most free agents being snapped up by teams in the NBA. The Mavericks will need their new players to step up to a big level in order to find greater success next season.
More must-reads: