Dallas Mavericks offseason recap: Time for Harrison Barnes to shine
With the bulk of NBA free agency in the books, USA TODAY Sports explores how all of the offseason moves will alter each team as we look ahead to the 2016-17 season.
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Projected starting five: Dallas Mavericks
(Statistics from 2015-16 season)
- Deron Williams - Points: 14.1, assists: 5.8, rebounds: 2.9, steals: 0.9, field goal percentage: 41.4%
- Wesley Matthews - Points: 12.5, rebounds: 3.1, assists: 1.9, steals: 1.0, field goal percentage: 38.8%
- Harrison Barnes (with Golden State) - Points: 11.7, rebounds: 4.9, assists: 1.8, steals: 0.6, field goal percentage: 46.6%
- Dirk Nowitzki - Points: 18.3, rebounds: 6.5, assists: 1.8, blocks: 0.7, field goal percentage: 44.8%
- Andrew Bogut (with Golden State) - Points: 5.4, rebounds: 7.0, assists: 2.3, blocks: 1.6, field goal percentage: 62.7%
Added - Nowitzki (re-signed), Williams (re-signed), Barnes, Bogut, Dwight Powell (re-signed), Seth Curry, Quincy Acy, A.J. Hammons, Jonathan Gibson
Lost - Chandler Parsons, Zaza Pachulia, Raymond Felton, David Lee, Jeremy Evans, JaVale McGee, Charlie Villanueva (unsigned)
Biggest acquisition - Nowitzki
Landing both Barnes and Bogut from the Golden State Warriors was huge, but no summer signing was more monumental for the Mavs than Nowitzki. Not only from both a leadership and legacy standpoint, but Nowitzki, 38, also proved last season that he still has a little left in the tank, leading the Mavs in scoring and playing 31.5 minutes per night.
Biggest departure - Parsons
The 27-year-old has shown he has the potential to become one of the NBA's top perimeter scorers when healthy. The only problem? He can't stay healthy. Coming off two consecutive seasons shortened by knee surgeries, and with a four-year, $94 million price tag, keeping Parsons around for the long haul wasn't a gamble the Mavs were willing to make.
X factor - Barnes
The 24-year-old Barnes — who was so often the fourth option on a Golden State squad headlined by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green — is now in line for a much more prominent role with Dallas. But will he embrace it? With Father Time knocking on Nowitzki's door and with Parsons out of the picture, this is the time for Barnes, an NBA champion and Olympic gold medalist, to take the next step forward on both ends of the floor.
Offseason grade - B
Check out our other offseason recaps: Atlanta Hawks • Boston Celtics • Brooklyn Nets • Charlotte Hornets • Chicago Bulls • Cleveland Cavaliers
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