Offseason report: JET speaks on '11-12 Mavs
Earl K. Sneed recaps guard Jason Terry's Tuesday night appearance on TNT, after the star reserve expressed his thoughts on what went wrong this season with the Dallas Mavericks.
Offseason report: JET speaks on '11-12 Mavs
DALLAS -- With both point guard Jason Kidd and sixth man Jason Terry set to enter free agency on July 1, the Dallas Mavericks’ veteran backcourt could look completely different entering next season.
In addition to Kidd and Terry, new addition Delonte West will also hit the open market. Meanwhile, the Mavs’ front office will have a decision to make on eight-time All-Star Vince Carter, as the swingman’s contract includes a team option for the upcoming year.
That leaves just third-year guard Rodrigue Beaubois and second-year reserve Dominique Jones to man the controls in the backcourt after the Mavs played last season as the oldest team in the league, perhaps placing even more importance on landing a young guard with the No. 17 pick in the NBA Draft on June 28.
With that said, the Mavs figure to have an opportunity at landing a talented guard just outside of the lottery selections, according to draft expert Chad Ford for ESPN.com.
While Ford -- just like Hoopsworld.com -- sees the Mavericks going after Kendall Marshall, the pass-first point guard out of North Carolina, Ford also pegs Duke’s star freshman Austin Rivers as the 17th best prospect in a deep draft.
Marshall led the nation in assists-to-turnovers ratio and finished second in assists per game. Meanwhile, Rivers could best be described as a combo guard with excellent isolation skills to break down a defender in one-on-one matchups.
At 6-foot-4 and 199 pounds, Rivers possess the body type to play both the point and shooting guard positions at the next level, adding a 6-8 wingspan. But after entering his first year as the top-ranked prep out of high school, Rivers showcased a knack for putting the ball in the basket -- unlike Marshall -- as he led the Blue Devils in scoring with 15.5 points per game.
Still, the 19-year-old’s decision-making skills were often the topic of discussion, hitting just 43.3 percent from the floor (36.5 percent from behind the three-point arc) for the year and dishing out just 2.1 assists while committing 2.3 turnovers an outing.
But it’s also entirely possible that the Mavs will opt to fill the revolving door at shooting guard if Washington’s Terrance Ross falls out of his projected lottery slot.
At 6-6 and 195 pounds, Ross is the prototypical two guard, averaging 16.4 points and 6.4 rebounds on 45.7 percent shooting from the floor and 37.1 percent from three as a sophomore for the Huskies.
And with Mavericks president of basketball operations and GM Donnie Nelson making it clear after the team’s first-round playoff series sweep at the hands of Oklahoma City that it is time to add multiple scoring treats around 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, both Ross and Rivers could be the perfect fits for a squad looking to get younger on the fly.
“I think you saw during the course of the playoffs, [Nowitzki] was fighting tooth and nail and he needs help,” Nelson explained. “He needs help and we plan to get it for him.
“You’re always looking for guys that can create their own shot,” he added. “Oklahoma City series, we were beat on both sides of the ball. We couldn’t create opportunities, life was very difficult and it was a grind, but we’ve gotta get guys that can create those opportunities and make life easier for Dirk and the rest of the boys.”
