NBA Trade Deadline 2016: Grading every team’s moves

Dallas Mavericks

There weren’t many people around the league that expected the Dallas Mavericks to do much of anything this season, especially in the wake of the summer’s failed DeAndre Jordan signing. However, Dirk Nowitzki has recaptured something close to his former self on the basketball court, as has Deron Williams, and the Mavs are a legitimate playoff team in the Western Conference. The question  on Thursday was whether or not they’d try to improve their positioning by making any moves.

Ultimately, that wasn’t a priority—or so it seems—for the Mavericks leading up to the deadline. The Mavericks didn’t appear to have their hands or phones working on much of anything, and when you break it down, that probably has a lot to do with the fact that Dallas is just being realistic about the ceiling for this season.

Even if they’ve been impressive, it’s hard to escape the feeling that the Mavericks have overachieved. Subsequently, what’s really the point of trying to make a deal to improve their team if they aren’t going to contend for a title or even come close this season? The answer is that there really isn’t much point at all, making it hard to fault them for electing not to do anything at the deadline.

Grade: B-

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