Fansided

Is it finally Seth Curry’s time to shine in Dallas?

By Andrew Tobolowsky

Apr 11, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Seth Curry (30) cheers from the bench in the second half against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Sacramento Kings won 105-101. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 11, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Seth Curry (30) cheers from the bench in the second half against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Sacramento Kings won 105-101. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports /
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Of all places for 25-year old Seth Curry to end up, the Dallas Mavericks — who just agreed to sign him to a two-year, six million dollar deal, which if I know them, will turn out to have a second year player option — may once have seemed among the least likely. You can search your memory banks, real and digital, for the last time the notoriously elderly Mavericks did anything like it, signing a guy with really only one year of NBA experience and a total of 48 games under his belt to play a potentially large bench role.

Part of it was, no doubt, desperation — in an offseason where even deep bench players are making much more than the Mavericks have to spend, after handing out big contracts to Deron Williams, Harrison Barnes, and Dwight Powell of all people and absorbing the salary of Andrew Bogut — and part of it may have been cognitive priming. After grabbing two of the starting five of the 2016 Warriors’ finals team, the name “Curry” just rolls off the tongue.

But a big part of it may also be that Seth is a guy who’s ready for his close up.

Listen, guys like Seth are notoriously hard to profile. His name has taken him some important places — Duke, for one — but that’s part of the reason his inability to find a place in the big leagues for two years is such a concern. Had the season ended in February, I doubt anyone would pay him anything. He shot well, but averaged just 8.4 minutes a game and didn’t record even a single assist. Bad news for a guard, no matter how good his spot up game is.

As everyone knows, however, the season does not end in February, and Seth went on to demonstrate that he could be a 20-minute a game guy in March before having a mini break out in April. In 32.4 minutes a game, over seven games, the younger Curry scored 16 points a game, dished 5 assists, and grabbed 3 boards, while shooting .459/.489/.875. Nor were any of those numbers particularly skewed by one big game: he scored in double-digits in every single contest, had 3+ assists in every one, and shot 40 percent or better from three in ten of his last eleven games.

It is the smallest of small sample sizes but no one should be surprised that Steph’s brother and Dell’s son can really shoot. As for his fit with the Mavericks, that’s another question, but the need may be there. On the one hand, the Mavs might seem overloaded at the guard positions, with Deron, Devin Harris, and J.J. Barea at one and Wes Matthews and sometimes Justin Anderson (more often a three for them) at the two. On the other, Seth could get a lot of minutes behind Wes, Deron is known to be injury-prone, and Devin was pretty ineffective all season. The offseason isn’t over but it certainly looks like the minutes could be there.

Of course, Rick Carlisle is a bit of a gauntlet for a young guy to run, but it’s not the worst thing in the world. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere — just ask Jae Crowder.

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