Lots of options to choose from despite a veteran roster
Today’s question for our staff is pretty direct: Which Dallas Mavericks player will be most improved?
Xavier: Spencer Dinwiddie. He wasn’t technically a Mav last season but I think he will most outperform fan’s expectations of him. He was in a terrible situation in LA, where he was tasked with being a primary ball handler at times with zero floor spacing. It was reminiscent of his time in Brooklyn. I think he’ll be able to play next to Kyrie or Luka and may even close games in certain matchups. He is a smart defender that and will play an increased role of Exum is forced to miss an extended period of time.
Isaac: I expect Jaden Hardy to take a big leap this year. He’s been in the shadows a lot through the Luka/Kyrie era but he showed glimpses in last year’s playoff run and I expect him to build on that. With injuries and rest handled the way they are in the modern NBA — and Jason Kidd’s promise during Media Day to give him more minutes — he’ll get his chances this year. It’s all about cashing them in. I think we’re finally in for a full year of the Hardy Party.
Sudarshan: Klay Thompson. He had a horrible season last year with the Warriors with it reaching it’s nadir in THAT play-in game against the Kings. I expect him to thrive in the freedom of the Dallas offense which would allow him to focus on primarily being a shooter and a defender. He wouldn’t have to exert as much energy as he did with the Warriors to get open or handle a significant scoring load. From the looks of it, Klay looks like he has piece of mind now that he’s out of the fishbowl in San Francisco and has embraced the Immaculate Vibes in Dallas. I think the revenge tour is going to be fun to follow all season long.
Tyler: I’ll take Dereck Lively for this distinction, although it seems a little too obvious. Lively outplayed expectations in his rookie year, including a playoff run where he was arguably the Mavericks third best player. Jason Kidd raved about Lively’s camp performance, noting specifically his post presence and touch from 3 point land. From all indications, the worst part of his training camp was losing 100 grand to Luka on a full court hook shot. Which, while that is pretty bad, he’ll make that up with his next contract if he plays the way we all think he will this season.
Matt M.: I’m looking forward to the giant step forward that Dereck Lively II is bound to take in year 2. For what it’s worth, Lively is the only Maverick on the board as a betting option for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, with odds at +4000 from our betting partners at DraftKings. We’ve all seen the videos of Lively in the lab, draining corner 3-pointers like a 3-and-D wing this offseason. That shooting from the 5 position would absolutely be a welcome addition to the Mavs weapons cache but I’m more interested in his offensive game in the lane and how that progresses. He was born a defensive genius, now it’s going to be great to get to watch his offensive development.
OG Matt: If I’m allowed to ignore the prompt slightly and go with who is my HOPE to make a big improvement this season, it would be Olivier-Maxence Prosper. He played sporadically across 40 games as a rookie, so to see him become at least a semi-regular end of bench rotation guy this season would not be an insignificant improvement for OMax. Plus, looking ahead, Prosper showing everybody that he’s got the juice to be a real contributor would be a boon to the roster at the power forward spot during this window of contention Dallas has built for themselves. Maxi Kleber is great, but having someone who can be the true heir apparent to the backup 4 spot plugs a potential roster hole in the next couple of years.
Michael: It feels like O-Max quietly improved over the course of last season and I expect he furthered his game during the off season as well. While I suspect he may actually have improved the most from where he was this time last year to now, I don’t know that he will have an abundance of opportunity to show it this year. For that reason (and because I’d be something of a hypocrite otherwise), I have to stick with my X-Factor Jaden Hardy. He’s shown he isn’t afraid of the moment, proven he can microwave score, seems extremely coachable and if he’s still sponging from Kyrie, I expect his before-and-after stats will show him as most improved. The unfortunate injury to Exum will likely give him more of a chance sooner, to show it. P.S. I’m not sleeping on Lively either. Again, his before-and-after stats may not show dramatic uplift because he was pretty darn good last year, but I do think he will be even better this year based on his own personal improvements, and the team’s personnel improvements. If he and Marshall can translate their pre-season tandem play to real games, Lively is going to benefit greatly.
Brent: Give me PJ Washington here. We saw the difference his hot shooting moment against OKC made. If PJW can tune up his three-point percentage and make opposing coaches think twice about disrespecting his side of the floor, look out. In that case, there is truly nowhere in closing lineups for the sort of hedging, shading, or late doubles that teams have regularly deployed against Maverick guards.
Kirk: Before the injury to Dante Exum I would not have considered him but I think Jaden Hardy may end up surprising me. You can’t teach the confidence he has and despite lacking top-end athleticism, he’s got a good shot and good instincts. If he gets a chance, I think he’s going to show something to all of us.