Previewing the Dallas Mavericks heading into the 2020-21 NBA season

We go over the Mavericks’ depth chart, odds to win a championship and provide fantasy basketball analysis for the 2020-21 NBA season.

By Benjamin Zweiman@BenZweimanDKN Dec 11, 2020, 4:00am PST

Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks handles the ball against the LA Clippers during Round One, Game Six of the NBA Playoffs on August 30, 2020 at the AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.

The 2020-21 NBA season is a few weeks away and training camp is underway. The Dallas Mavericks won’t get Kristaps Porzingis back until January but will be guided by MVP frontrunner Luka Doncic. Dallas had a historically good offense but focused on improving defensively over the offseason. Whether the Mavericks have improved enough to get out of the first round remains to be seen. Here we’re going to take a look at the Mavericks’ offseason, plus look ahead to the 2020-21 season.

2020 offseason

Key additions

Josh Richardson, SG/SF (trade)
Josh Green, SF (draft)
Tyrell Terry. PG (draft)

Key losses

Seth Curry, SG (trade)

2020-21 odds

Title odds: +2200
Win percentage: O/U 57.5
Luka Doncic MVP odds: +450
Kristaps Porzingis DPOTY odds: +8000

2020-21 roster

Depth Chart

PG: Luka Doncic, Jalen Brunson, Tyrell Terry
SG: Tim Hardaway Jr., Josh Richardson, Tyrell Terry
SF: Josh Richardson, Josh Green, Dorian Finney-Smith
PF: Maxi Kleber, Dorian Finney-Smith, Kristaps Porzingis
C: Kristaps Porzingis, Dwight Powell, Willie Cauley-Stein

Roster battles

Backup C: Dwight Powell vs. Willie Cauley-Stein
6th man: Dorian Finney-Smith vs. Jalen Brunson

Fantasy basketball

Best Sleeper

Dorian Finney-Smith — Finney-Smith can play the 3, 4, and 5 and put together some ridiculous stats in the postseason when the Mavericks were undermanned in the frontcourt. Only Doncic and Porzingis played more minutes per game than him last year so I expect him to continue a consistent energy player off the bench.

Likely Bust

Josh Richardson — Dallas traded Curry’s shooting away to get better on defense and I don’t doubt that J Rich will make the Mavs improve. He was brought in because of his ability to be competitive when guarding multiple positions. While he can score he should be the fourth option on offense. Doncic, Porzingis, and Hardaway will do most of the shooting. Richardson’s playmaking and rebounding could have to take big steps forward for him tp pop as a fantasy basketball prospect.