NBA: Grading every team’s 2023 offseason through the draft, free agency

Dallas Mavericks

Biggest offseason moves: Re-signing Kyrie Irving, S&T for Grant Williams, drafting Dereck Lively II

Entering an offseason with high stakes, it’s safe to say that the Dallas Mavericks have emerged from the summer as a better team than they were last season. On paper, the Mavs have improved. Whether or not that improvement will translate to on-the-court success is the question that all Mavs fans want to know.

Dallas’ summer started off with something that needed to be done – signing Kyrie Irving to a contract extension. For all the talk about Kyrie being a possible distraction, this is kind of what the Mavs signed up for. Trading him at the deadline without plans to re-sign him would’ve been a very dumb plan. They locked him up which was a solid, much-needed start to the offseason.

They then acquired Grant Williams via sign and trade. This could end up being one of the most underrated moves of the summer. It’ll be interesting to see how Williams looks with an expanded role. He doesn’t have to be super, he just has to be the do-it-all, glue guy to excel in Dallas. I believe he can be that.

Many seem to love the selection of Dereck Lively II in the 2023 NBA Draft. I get the idea but I’m just not sure how much he’s going to contribute this season.

Grade: B+