NBA Season Preview 2018-19: Every team’s biggest question

Dallas Mavericks: How will Luka Dončić and Dennis Smith Jr. complement one another?

A strong case could be made that no team in the last two years has outperformed its draft slots as heavily as Dallas has. Smith, who fell to ninth in the 2017 draft, was arguably as promising a prospect as Lonzo Ball or De’Aaron Fox. Luka Dončić may have been the best player in either of the last two drafts, and Dallas managed to steal him by trading the fifth pick to Atlanta. With its foundational pieces in place, Dallas can move forward with a clear vision of how to build for the future as it transitions from a veteran-laden roster.

Part of what makes Dončić so gifted and worth building around is his offensive flexibility. While most effective orchestrating sets with the ball in his hands, his shooting ability and uncanny feel for the game makes him a threat without it as well. At 6-foot-8, Dončić can create mismatches against most defender, and the attention he commands will, at the very least, alleviate pressure from his teammates. Much of the offense will run through Smith, for whom the disparity between on-ball and off-ball effectiveness is much greater, thereby assigning Dončić to a spot-up role with secondary playmaking responsibilities. He should also have ample opportunity to act as a primary ball-handler in bench or starting units. Dončić running pick-and-pop actions with Dirk Nowitzki will make basketball aesthetes gush.

A more significant adjustment may await Smith, who led the Mavs in usage and posted a wretched 47.3 true shooting percentage as a rookie. He’ll learn to become more effective without the ball as he has it less often, but even as a ball-handler, he must become more efficient and tighten up some of the wild tendencies he displayed as a rookie. Smith was prone to reckless drives that, while admirable in their intention, illustrated a young player trying too hard to force the issue; he’ll have less leeway to make mistakes on a team with loftier goals.

These weaknesses are typical of rookie guards, as is improvement over that first NBA offseason. Smith shot just below 37 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s, a solid success rate obscured by a 27 percent mark on pull-up triples. Playing more often with other capable playmakers, a healthier shot selection should yield more efficient production.