How bad will the Mavericks be?

Hudson McCabe, Reporter | Opinion

Dallas Mavericks fans have enjoyed much success from NBA championships and twelve consecutive 50 or more win seasons dating from 2000. Since 2011, it seems as if the Mavs starting roster changes drastically every season, due to either lack of draft picks or free agency whiffs. The 2015-16 season will be no different. After another unsuccessful offseason, the Mavs have struggled to build a successful roster.

After missing out on Deandre Jordan, they settled on playing center with the committee of Zaza Puchullia, Samuel Dalembert and Javale McGee, all of which are unproven or wildly inconsistent. However, this season’s back court is slightly improved this off-season with the additions of Deron Williams and Wesley Matthews over last year’s unwilling Rajon Rondo and a streaky Monta Ellis, both of whom needed to have the ball in their hands.

The combo of Williams and Matthews worked during their brief stint together at Utah, but Williams was a different player in Utah. He was the perfect balance of confidence and fundamentals. In Utah, it was even debated whether or not he was the league’s best point guard. The Deron Williams we know today is slow, unsteady, and unwilling to make risky passes. By the end of the season, it might be possible that he makes the top half of the league’s starting point guards, but he will not return to his all star caliber days at Utah.

Deron Williams backcourt mate, Wesley Matthews, is coming off a ruptured achilles, which no NBA player has come back from with success. Who says that Matthews will be any different? The sad truth is that Mark Cuban probably threw $70 million dollars at a horse who can’t race.

The only two returning starters for this year’s Mavericks are an injured Chandler Parsons and an aging Dirk. Parsons had a surgery to repair the cartilage in his right knee over the off-season, while Dirk just seems to have no gas left in the tank. It shows when he is attempting to defend a pick and roll or trying to get to the other side of the court on a fast break.

The Dallas Mavericks may not be the worst team in the league this season, but the combination of aging stars and lack of chemistry is going to be hard for them to overcome.