NBA Hope Index: How far is each team from a ring heading into 2017-18?

19. Dallas Mavericks

Why is that things never seem too bad in Dallas? They’ve been meandering around without a real plan for the last several years, not contending, milking the last few drops of the greatness that is Dirk.

They like to think of themselves as big game hunters, yet they’ve never landed a big fish. They’ve also been too good to tank, taking themselves out of the running for any truly transformational stars.

Until this year. Dennis Smith Jr. has single handedly changed the trajectory of the franchise. He hasn’t played a minute of NBA ball, but let’s not get lost in such trivialities. The kid has the goods.

He also has the best coach in the game showing him the way, and the benefit of landing in an organization that isn’t a bumbling mess like most of the teams ranked below them here.

Still, Smith is only one guy. Their ranking here is more about trusting the brand. They were smart to let Chandler Parsons walk, and their bet on Harrison Barnes was a good one. The theft of Nerlens Noel should have been prosecuted, although things are now officially messy in that corner.

They’ll continue to find scrap-heap guys that put on a Mavs uniform and magically become solid rotation players. It is the Dallas way.

In a league with so much incompetence at the top, the Mavs shouldn’t be any lower than this.

Path to Glory: luck into the top five of the draft and add a running mate for Smith that can grow with him over the next decade, employ Carlisle for as long as he’s still breathing, and continue to avoid the pitfalls that seem to plague just about every other organization in the sport.

Group 3: If Eeeeeeeverythign Broke Right…

The following teams aren’t in a perfect situation, but they each have reasons to be hopeful that with more than a bit of luck, things could better in a hurry.