The 2019-20 Dallas Mavericks featured the most efficient offense in NBA history, scoring 116.7 points per 100 possessions. And the Mavs did it with Luka Doncic completing just his second season in the league and Kristaps Porzingis missing nearly a quarter of the season while recovering from tearing his ACL in 2018.
Now, with Doncic and Porzingis expected to be fully healthy and in sync for the 2020-21 season, the Mavs have new goals in mind: How do they improve their defense while finding a third dance partner on offense to join their dynamic duo?
Let's hit the most important goals for the Mavericks' offseason and break down their trade assets, draft options and cap space.
Note: The financials in here are based on the salary cap and luxury tax holding at the 2019-20 levels, as expected.
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The four-year approach
Dallas has taken a four-year approach to constructing its roster.
The foundation was built in 2018 when the Mavericks made a draft-night trade for Luka Doncic. Seven months later, Dallas added All-Star Kristaps Porzingis and starting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. from the New York Knicks in exchange for three players and two future first-round draft picks.
Although Porzingis would sign a $158 million max contract last offseason, the Mavericks set a financial budget that allowed them to remain competitive now but also with an eye toward the summer of 2021.
Dorian Finney-Smith, Dwight Powell, Boban Marjanovic, Seth Curry, Delon Wright and Maxi Kleber signed contracts with starting salaries of $11 million or less, with only Curry, Kleber and Powell extending into 2022-23. The $9.0 million Kleber contract is non-guaranteed.
These contracts align with the rookie-scale contract of Doncic. The All-NBA guard is under contract for the next two seasons and will not see his salary adjusted (with an expected max extension) until 2022-23.
The $10.1 million Doncic salary in 2021-22 along with the relatively low salaries of their role players allows the Mavericks to go big-game hunting in the offseason of 2021. The Mavericks are likely to be conservative this offseason with 14 players under contract. They project to have $30 million in cap space next year, just $5 million short of a contract for a max player with 7-9 years of service -- one like MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Regardless of which players are actually available, Dallas will need to focus on improving its 18th-ranked defense. Finishing as the No. 7 seed and losing in the first round while having the highest-rated offense of all time is proof of that.
Porzingis can be part of the solution there. But if he continues to have health problems, Dallas' cap flexibility and Doncic playing at an All-NBA level might not matter. After missing part of 2017-18 and all of 2018-19 because of a torn left ACL, Porzingis was recently diagnosed with a meniscus tear in his right knee.
The forward has $131 million left on his contract.
The player option of Tim Hardaway Jr.
Hardaway has proved that he was more than a salary-cap dump when he was acquired from the Knicks along with Porzingis. In the 71 games this season, including 58 starts, Hardaway averaged 15.8 points while shooting 39.8% from 3 range.
The economics of the NBA this offseason will likely see him opt into his $19.0 million contract for 2020-21. Remove the Miami Heat (who are preserving cap space for 2021) and the Knicks (a third New York stop for Hardaway is unlikely) and we have only three teams -- Atlanta, Charlotte and Detroit -- with cap space in excess of $19 million.
Hardaway Jr. is extension-eligible if he opts in, but a new contract -- even on a team-friendly basis -- would carve into Dallas' 2021 cap space.
The draft: Two picks in the top 31
The Mavericks nearly have two first-round picks in October: their own first-rounder (No. 18) and the Warriors' second (No. 31).
While they could keep the picks, both draft assets will give the front office multiple options to consider in the next six weeks:
Trading out of the first round for a future first-rounder to replace one of the picks lost in the Porzingis trade
Can combining Nos. 18 and 31 in a trade get you into the top 15?
Trading No. 31 to acquire multiple seconds from a team like Philadelphia, which holds Nos. 34 and 36
The $9.3 million midlevel exception
If the 2019 draft is an indicator, a portion (up to $1.5 million) of the Mavericks' midlevel exception will be used to sign their second-round pick. The exception will be needed if the Mavericks offer a contract that is more than two seasons. Last year, 16 of the 18 players selected in Round 2 signed for at least three seasons.
Because there is a priority on cap space for 2021, what remains of the midlevel ($7-8 million) will likely be used to sign a player or two to a one-year contract (such as Trey Burke) or in the buyout market after the 2021 trade deadline.
If Hardaway and Willie Cauley-Stein opt into their contracts and the Mavericks keep both draft picks, they will have one open roster spot.
Offseason cap breakdown
The Mavericks are right at the salary cap when factoring in the player options of Hardaway ($19 million) and Cauley-Stein ($2.3 million), plus their own first-round pick. If both opted out (unlikely in the case of Hardaway), the Mavericks would have close to $18 million in room.
Dallas likely will have the $9.3 million midlevel.
Depth chart
The resources available to build the roster
The draft: Two picks in the top 31
$5.6 million to send out and $4.8 million to receive in a trade
Exceptions: $9.3 million midlevel
Dates to watch
Hardaway and Cauley-Stein have until 5 p.m. ET on October 17 to opt into their contracts for next season.
The Cauley-Stein $2.3 million contract for 2020-21 is $400,000 more than his minimum for that season. Acquired in January, the 27-year-old played in 13 games (with two starts), averaging 5.1 points and 4.6 rebounds.
Restrictions
As a result of the Porzingis trade with New York, the earliest draft for which Dallas can trade a first-rounder is in 2027. If the Mavs were to remove the protection on the 2023 first-rounder (top-10 protected), they would be allowed to trade a 2025, 2026 or 2027 first-rounder.
Porzingis has a 15% trade bonus in his contract. The bonus would be voided because it would exceed the maximum salary allowed in 2020-21.
Extension candidates
Besides Hardaway, the Mavericks have Jalen Brunson and Justin Jackson who are extension eligible.
Brunson would be an ideal candidate for an extension. Because he is under contract for 2021-22 (Dallas would need to guarantee his salary), the first year of the extension would not start until the 2022-23 season. Brunson in his two years with Dallas has played 130 games (with 54 starts), averaging 8.8 points. The Mavericks can add an additional three seasons to his current contract. An extension, however, would see the Mavericks lose cap flexibility in 2022 because of his $1.9 million free agent hold. Without an extension this offseason or next year, Brunson will be an unrestricted free agent in 2022. The deadline for an extension is the last day before the regular season -- tentatively Nov. 30.
Justin Jackson, a first-round pick in 2017, is rookie extension eligible and has a Nov. 30 deadline. Jackson played 65 games this season but only a total of 13 minutes in the playoffs.
The draft assets
The Mavericks have their own first-rounder this season but will send New York an unprotected first-rounder in 2021.
Two years later, Dallas will send a top-10 protected first-rounder to New York.
If the pick is not conveyed, New York would receive a top-10 protected first-rounder in 2024 or 2025.
The pick turns into a 2025 second-round selection if not sent in any of the three years.
Here's how ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz have Dallas selecting in October:
No. 18 (own): Theo Maledon | PG | Villeurbanne
No. 31 (via Golden State): Jahmi'us Ramsey | SG | Texas Tech