The off-season to come for Mavs Moneyball

I don’t like the off-season.

I like basketball. the things which happen on the court. I enjoy talking about the plays, the players, and the things which occur between the two baskets. But basketball, for the Dallas Mavericks at least, is on hiatus until further notice.

When the basketball stops, we enter the realm of the possible, and for many basketball fans, it’s their favorite time. It’s the time where we project about what’s to come, what could happen if things go just right, and imagine ourselves as the general manager of the Dallas Mavericks.

In the coming weeks and months at Mavs Moneyball, here’s what you can expect:

1.) A season in review

First, we’re going to be going through each player’s season in review. Our intention is to review each rotation and their body of work during the season, their best game, their current contract situation, and what next season could hold for each player.

There’s also going to be some film studies of aspects of the Dallas offense, a breakdown of the key numbers which led to such a successful season, and some opining about what this season meant and means moving forward. This was a truly awesome season and we plan to revel in it for a while.

2.) Draft coverage

The Dallas Mavericks have the 18th and 31st pick in the 2020 draft, which will take place October 16th.

This draft is incredibly important. After trading away a protected first for 2021 and an unprotected first in 2023, this draft is the last chance for two seasons for the Mavericks to add cost-controlled talent to the roster. Given the rather interesting paper roster for the 2020-21 Mavericks at the moment, it’s reasonable to think the Dallas may move one or both picks during draft night.

However, we’re incredibly excited about the draft and believe it’s a key aspect to building a sustainable contender. As a result, we intend to have extensive draft coverage: player profiles, podcasts with experts, combine commentary, and a whole lot more. This will be the only time we get to cover a draft for the next two seasons and we plan to have a lot of fun with it.

3.) Free agency

Transaction season! No sport generates as much interest in the off season as the NBA. Between agent leaks, front office plants, and speculation from analysts and former players, there are few things like covering a NBA free agency period.

As of right not, there are no confirmed dates on anything past the draft. COVID-19 running amok in America paired with the need for the best business decisions keep pushing back the start of the 2020-21 season, which means the free agency window grows longer. At some point, though, the NBA and the Player’s Association will settle on a start date and from there we’ll likely see an explosion of rumors.

We plan to offer our own set of ideas for what the Mavericks could do to improve for next season. Given their salary cap situation and future roster flexibility, there’s a lot that’s possible. And who wouldn’t want to play with a team on the rise?

We’ll also aggregate the rumors as they come as well, but I’ll say what I’ve said for years: things about the Dallas Mavericks do not make it out to the media unless there is a specific reason they want that information public. Alas, no one ever remembers that part because rumors are fun all on their own.

I miss basketball already. But it will come back and in the meantime, we’ll have plenty to state, discuss, and debate about as the Mavericks look to build off their best season in years.

With Luka Doncic way ahead of his projection curve and Kristaps Porzingis looking like a force coming off of a season and a half without basketball, the Dallas Mavericks are in the driver seat towards true contention. This off-season and the decisions made by the Dallas Maverick front office should chart the course to take another step in 2020-21.

We here at Mavs Moneyball will be with you every step of the way.