Dorian Finney-Smith has been a pleasant surprise for the Mavericks this season, starting 16 games for the team and contributing 21.1 minutes per game. After Monday night’s win over the Nuggets, in which Finney-Smith contributed 13 points and nine boards, Deron Williams suggested that the undrafted rookie is “putting himself in a good position to get a long-term contract next year from somebody” (Twitter link via Earl K. Sneed of Mavericks.com).
Perhaps the veteran point guard was projecting — while Williams’ deal with the Mavs expires next summer, Finney-Smith is under contract with the team for two more non-guaranteed seasons, so Dallas shouldn’t have to worry about losing him to a rival suitor anytime soon.
Here are a few more Mavericks-related notes:
- In a conversation with Chris Mannix (Twitter video link), Bobby Marks of The Vertical discusses the outlook for the Mavs, including addressing whether it might be time for the club to consider trading Dirk Nowitzki.
- Since joining the Mavericks in the summer of 2015, Wesley Matthews hasn’t looked like the same player he was in Portland, but his performance recently suggests he may finally be shedding the effects of his Achilles injury and playing up to his potential, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com.
- Speaking of injuries, Nowitzki and J.J. Barea are expected to ramp up their activity this week, but it’s still not clear when they’ll get back on the court for the Mavs, says Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News.
- In a chat for The Morning News, Sefko offered some thoughts on where he’d start if he were tasked with fixing the Mavs, and explored how the team might be able to add a second first-round pick for 2017.
Besides injuries, the obvious issue for Dallas has been Wesley Matthews not being the same offensive player he was in Portland. The defense still seems to be there, for the most part, but he isn’t the same shooter he was. Him going 3-17 all the time is obviously going to end up causing a lot of losses. I thought that offensive game might be back for him this year, being another year removed from the injury, but it hasn’t been. Hopefully, this small sample for him lately can continue. I’ve been a fan for a long time, and he doesn’t deserve to have people lamenting his contract.
I loved the signing of Finney-Smith for them, after the draft. I was surprised he didn’t get drafted. He is a really good defender. If he can start to show some consistency offensively, particularly with a 3 point shot, he’s going to be a good wing player in this league that can guard multiple positions. If only Justin Anderson could find his jumpshot. They would have the makings of a good wing rotation
I’ve got mixed feelings on whether they should trade Dirk. This team is destined for a lottery pick and they need to make almost everyone available for trade. On one hand Dirk deserves to be on a competitive team his last couple years in the league. On the other hand the Dallas fans (myself included) would hate to see him end his career in another uniform. He has meant so much for this franchise.