of Dallas Mavericks It’s caused some confusion early this offseason. Mavericks allowed Jaylen Brunson to leave without making a competitive offer to keep his services. Their offer was not financially competitive.The Mavericks then made the bizarre decision to sign JaVale McGee to the second-biggest contract of his career, despite his advanced age (34). I went down.
McGee signs four-year, $44 million deal Denver Nuggets in 2012 after completing his rookie contract. At the time, he was still a very promising 24-year-old center who had yet to become a staple of “Shaqtin-a-Fool.”Following that deal, he signed his four different one-year minimum contracts. signed. One of which was his signing with the Mavericks for 2015.He then signed his $8.2 million contract in two years. los angeles lakers before finally signing a one-year, $5 million contract. Phoenix Suns last season.
The contract he signed with the Mavericks blew them all up despite his age. But that doesn’t change the fact that McGee will help the Mavericks on the court this season.i fell in love with him openly Mavericks exit interview podcast.
Dwight Powell was the Mavericks’ only rim-running option for years. Many tend to give Luka Doncic credit and downplay his abilities, but Powell was elite before Doncic came to Dallas. McGee is an elite he’s a roll man too. In the playoffs last season, he was his fourth-best roll man in the league, but this efficiency was due to his low number of tries. More importantly, he has shown ability above the 90th percentile every season.
The difference between McGee and Powell is that McGee is also an elite rim protector and rebounder. Powell is terrible in both areas and the Mavericks have to choose between a maxi he Kleber rim runner or a capable rim protector. Maggie doesn’t need that choice. Powell allowed his opponents to shoot 63.6% at the rim last season. McGee allowed his 51.8% shooting to his opponent in the same situation.
Rebounds aren’t valued by NBA teams for a variety of reasons, but all things being equal, it’s better to get a rebound than allow an opponent to rebound. McGee was available on the court last season 29.7% of all defensive rebounds. Dwight Powell grabbed his 14.3% of all available defensive rebounds on the court last season. Part of this can be attributed to the Mavericks’ desire to get Doncic to grab as many rebounds as possible, but Powell is arguably a lesser rebounder than McGee.
One of the most surprising things for Mavericks fans who have forgotten Maggie from previous Mavericks stays is how much more variety he has than Powell. Powell has made 70.8% of his shots from within 3 feet of him from the basket this season. Magee only made 53.5% of his shots from the same distance.
McGee has overcome the tendency to attempt bold shots that have been part of his “Shaqtin a Fool” pedigree. But last season he completed 37.1% of his 3-10 foot shots, adding the ability to finish with a floater or a short “dark fade.” He made them with his 58.8%, which is incredibly impressive.
McGee’s aren’t the best thing since sliced bread. He isn’t going to dramatically change the outcome of who wins his game in the playoffs. But he’s an upgrade over Powell in that he’s 13-15 minutes per game playing in the regular season and playoffs. However, it will require a different style of defense than the one Powell played. Maggie is primarily a “drop” big man. McGee only switched a total of 43 screens last season, according to Synergy Sports data.
He’s also a big body that soaks up the wear and tear that Clever and Christian Wood are better off avoiding until the playoffs. The Mavericks showed they had butter on their bread by playing a five-out offense. McGee is clearly not part of it. But he could help, and he may have overpaid, but it’s the only move the Mavericks have actually helped since free agency began.
