I was ridiculed by the group at the beginning! In 23, the Mavericks got Irving 5 for 2, and how the players they sent are developing now

There is no 24th in the rivers and lakes

2024-05-27 14:08Posted in Henan Sports Creators

With the Western Conference finals series at 3-0, Mavericks fans can basically start celebrating, and they will most likely see the home team reach the Finals for the first time in 13 years. As an important contributor to the Mavericks' revival, Irving has played really well this season, averaging 25.6 points, 5 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game in the regular season, shooting 49.7% from the field and 41.1% from three-point range.

In the playoffs, Irving averaged 22.4 points, 4 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game, shooting 49.2% from the field and 44% from three-point range. Although the scoring has dropped compared to the regular season, this is not because Irving is not strong enough, the main reason is that he has made sacrifices in terms of ball possession for the sake of the team.

Especially in the first half of every game, Irving will always help other players get into the groove first, and he often doesn't turn on the offensive mode until the second half, or even the fourth quarter, so far in the playoffs, Irving's total of 114 points in the final quarter ranks first in the league. It's worth mentioning that Irving's playoff resume has never lost a series point game, and his 14-0 record is also the best in history.

Looking back at the Mavericks, the deal was too profitable, although they also paid a lot of price for it, not only sending away multiple instant players, but also 3 draft picks, but fortunately, the result did not disappoint the team. However, at that time, the Mavericks have been ridiculed by the outside world since they got Irving, and ESPN directly gave a D rating, so how did the players sent away by the Mavericks develop later.

1. Spencer Dinwiddy

This season, he averaged 10.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 39.2% from the field

As one of the heroes of the Mavericks' Western Conference finals in 2022, Dinwiddie's performance in the playoffs that year was also quite impressive, he averaged 14.2 points per game and shot 41.7% from three-point range. Later, Brunson left, and Dinwiddie also got more balls in the Mavericks in the 2022-2023 season, so his statistics also stood at 17.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists, shooting 45.5% from the field and 40.5% from three-point range.

After being traded to the Nets, Dinwiddie's ball possession skyrocketed, and the team used him completely as the No. 1 perimeter core, not only scoring but also connecting the team's offense. In the 26 games with the Nets in the 2022-2023 season, Dinwiddie averaged 16.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 9.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

However, at the beginning of the 2023-2024 season, Dinwiddie still has a lot of ball possession with the Nets, but his performance is still declining, averaging 12.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6 assists per game, shooting 39.1% from the field and 32% from three-point range. The reason why he didn't play well was because Dinwiddie really couldn't be the main attacker, and on the other hand, he didn't use his full strength in the Nets, because the team was rebuilding, so he didn't play hard at all when he was a Maverick.

So the Nets sent Dinwiddie away in the middle of the season, and after negotiating a buyout with the Raptors, Dinwiddie became a favorite in the buyout market, and many strong teams threw olive branches to him. In the end, the Mavericks and Lakers became Dinwiddie's potential next home, and in order to get him, the Lakers not only invited Dinwiddie to the team's home court to watch the game, but also General Manager Pelinka personally accompanied.

In the end, Dinwiddie decided to join the Lakers, and it is worth mentioning that he later revealed in an interview that the reason why he came to the Lakers, James's recruitment and attraction may even be more important than returning to his hometown team to play. But after joining the Lakers, Dinwiddie's ability was obviously not fully developed by Ham, and he averaged only 6.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in the regular season.

However, Dinwiddie has no complaints in this situation, and he also played a very important role in the team's final sprint to the playoffs, including the key moment against the Bucks to block Lillard's killing game became his highlight moment. It has to be said that Ham trusts Dinwiddie's defense for a reason, and he is arguably one of the Lakers' best defenders this season, but obviously he also deserves more on the offensive end.

Due to the rotation of other players in the regular season, Dinwiddie also started 4 games with the Lakers, and he averaged 14 points per game in these four games, including 26 points and 5 assists against the Pacers, which was also his best performance with the Lakers. It's a pity that Dinwiddie was not fully integrated into the Lakers' offensive system until the end, and he only made 14 shots in the five games of the playoffs, and the team was finally eliminated in the first round.

However, Dinwiddie was not disappointed with the Lakers, and in an interview at the end of the season, he still said that he was willing to stay here if the Lakers wanted to sign him. And I believe that if the price is right, the Lakers should renew his contract, and they will also change the coach next season, maybe the new coaching staff can also discover Dinwiddie's true strength.

2. Finney Smith

This season, he averaged 8.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game

He has been playing here since the Mavericks signed Smith in 2016, and as an undrafted pick, the team gave him consistent playing time from the start, and Smith did not disappoint the team, and he quickly became one of the most reliable 3-and-Ds on the team. In the 2021-2022 regular season, Smith averaged 11 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game, and in the playoffs, he averaged 11.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game, and his three-point shooting rate was as high as 42.6%.

With his excellent performance this season, Smith renewed his contract with the Mavericks in the offseason with a four-year contract of 55.56 million, which is quite cost-effective. Therefore, when the Mavericks asked Irving, the Nets also named Smith and asked them to put the latter in the trade chips, and it is worth mentioning that according to some rumors, Durant also "admired" Finney Smith very much.

However, after coming to the Nets, Smith seems to be a little "uncomfortable", and in the 2022-2023 season, he slipped to an average of 7.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game with a shooting rate of 35.1% and a three-point shooting rate of 30.6%. And it's easy to understand why Smith is down, because he played so well with the Mavericks in the first place, and a large part of it was Doncic's influence on the offensive end, which has the ability to make role players better, and Jones is another good example in this year's playoffs.

Smith's performance has picked up this season, averaging 8.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game, shooting 42.1% from the field and 34.8% from three-point range. Judging by Smith's current performance, his contract is not so cost-effective, and considering that he is 31 years old, it will be difficult for him to break through in the future.

Looking at the performance of the two players sent away by the Mavericks, and then looking at Irving, this deal is simply a "robbery deal", they traded two role players for an All-Star level superstar. Although there are still 3 draft picks, not all of them are first-rounders, and 2 of them are only second-rounders, which is completely "painless" for the future of the Mavericks.

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