Mavs look younger, more athletic and versatile
These revamped Mavs, now with 11 players set to be under contract with Monday's stunning free-agent signing of shooting guard O.J. Mayo, plus its three rookies, might need name tags when they embark for a postseason trip to Europe early in training camp.
The Mavs still have a $2.5 million "room" exception that could be used to re-sign free agent guard Delonte West or another player.
Unlike last season when Dallas was the oldest team in the league, it now has seven players 24 and younger and six 30 or older, with Vince Carter being the senior member at 35. And unlike last season when the 24-and-under crowd were mostly bench warmers, this season the team's potential starting backcourt, Darren Collison and Mayo, are both 24.
As for the versatility, only Collison is a true point guard. At least five others (not including West) can be considered combo guards. Carter, a shooting guard his entire career, will likely increase his time from last season spent at small forward. And Elton Brand will see time backing up Nowitzki at power forward and Chris Kaman at center.
Here's a look at the roster as currently constructed (feel free to separate point guards and shooting guards as you wish):
Point guard: Darren Collison, Rodrigue Beaubois, Jared Cunningham
Shooting guard: O.J. Mayo, Dahntay Jones, Dominique Jones
Small forward: Shawn Marion, Vince Carter, Jae Crowder
Power forward: Dirk Nowitzki, Elton Brand
Center: Chris Kaman, Brandan Wright, Bernard James
103.3 FM ESPN PODCASTS
Play Podcast Chuck Cooperstein joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss Game 6 of the NBA Finals. Coop is staying true to his pick that the Spurs will win in six games and says that the Heat's legacy is on the line.
Play Podcast Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle gives his take on the NBA Finals, talks about the Nets' decision to hire Jason Kidd, the advice he'd give Kidd about being a head coach in the NBA and more.
Play Podcast ESPN's Scott Van Pelt joins Fitzsimmons and Durrett to talk about the U.S. Open and the NBA Finals.
Play Podcast ESPN NBA insider Marc Stein joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the latest Mavericks news, Jason Kidd's interest in coaching the Nets and the NBA Finals.
Play Podcast ESPN senior NBA analyst Marc Stein joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the NBA Finals and latest Mavericks news.
Play Podcast Dirk Nowitzki joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett live in studio to discuss the moves he expects the Mavericks to make this summer, what his pitch would be to Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, and his upcoming Heroes Celebrity baseball game.
Play Podcast Hubie Brown joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss every angle of Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals and whether he would want Dwight Howard on his team.
Play Podcast Galloway & Company discuss Chris Paul's situation with the Clippers. Paul is unhappy being linked to the firing of his former coach. Could he join the Mavericks?
TEAM LEADERS
| POINTS | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Dirk Nowitzki
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| OTHER LEADERS | ||||||||||||
| Rebounds | S. Marion | 7.8 | ||||||||||
| Assists | D. Collison | 5.1 | ||||||||||
| Steals | D. Collison | 1.2 | ||||||||||
| Blocks | E. Brand | 1.3 | ||||||||||




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