5 teams most affected by the 2017-18 NBA salary cap overestimation

The Dallas Mavericks took a lot of flak in the first few days of  2016 free agency for not getting anybody to sign with them, But after getting a pair of Golden State Warriors, small forward Harrison Barnes on a max contract and center Andrew Bogut in a trade, there’s a chance the Mavericks could be a top four team in the Western Conference next season.

Dallas has a solid owner in Mark Cuban and a great head coach in Rick Carlisle. While both men will certainly work together to overcome this $6 million reduction in next year’s cap in 2017 NBA free agency, the Mavericks do have two key pieces of theirs hitting the open market next July: newly acquired Bogut and starting point guard Deron Williams.

The Mavericks aren’t in dire straits heading into 2017 free agency, but it will be difficult for Dallas to retain both should they each have solid 2016-17 campaigns. Keeping Williams will be easier since he’ll be hitting the market in a deep point guard class as a player clearly past his prime. However, Bogut may prove more difficult to re-sign.

Dallas has played its best basketball during the Dirk Nowitzki era (1998-present) when it has a top 10 defense to go along with their usually potent offense. The defense starts and ends with great rim protection. If Bogut is healthy in 2016-17, he could play at least comparable defense to what Tyson Chandler did for a few years in Dallas when the Mavericks were contending for NBA Championships.

Even in the small ball era of the NBA, rim protection and winning the game six feet to the basket is still most crucial. With Bogut as a high-end glue guy at this stage of his career, he’ll get a solid offer from somebody next summer. Given that Dallas doesn’t have his Bird rights, the Mavericks would have really liked that extra $6 million to keep Bogut if he has a great season in Dallas.

Next: 4. Los Angeles Clippers.