Dallas Mavericks
Needs: Cooper Flagg to be a star
Picks: 1
The Mavericks only have one pick in the upcoming draft, but it’s the most important one, as they landed the number one overall pick and must land a star that will get the fan base interested again after trading Luka Doncic just months ago. The Mavericks front office essentially got a get out of jail free card by landing the first overall pick, but now they need Cooper Flagg to live up to his billing as a future star in this league. With a frontcourt composed of Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively, and Flagg, the Mavericks should have a long, versatile defensive front that can cause problems for opposing teams. The backcourt could be an issue; however, as Dallas is going to be without Kyrie Irving to start next season and even once he returns, it will take time to get back up to speed. They will need to find a way to add a point, which could pose some difficulty simply because they are projected to be a first apron team next year unless they can shed some salary. They are close to the line, so I anticipate them being extremely strategic in who they add to their roster and when this offseason. For this reason, it would not surprise me to see Dallas first attempt to shed some salary and then go after a guard in free agency that could replace Irving for the first half of the season and play alongside him once he returns. Ultimately, this offseason will be judged by how well the Duke forward plays at the NBA level, but Dallas has said that they are in win-now mode, and it’s going to be difficult to win consistently with such a weak backcourt.
San Antonio Spurs
Needs: Three point shooting, rebounding.
Picks: 2, 14, 38
The Spurs are looking to build a team around Victor Wembanyama while Wemby is still on his rookie deal, and a big part of that should be a focus on putting complementary players around him. The Spurs attempted the 7th most threes last season, but were 20th in three-point shooting percentage. Assuming that their approach is similar with a new head coach at the helm, it will be important that they get players who can take advantage of the opportunities created from the gravity of a player like Wemby. It is widely expected that they will be taking Dylan Harper from Rutgers with the second overall pick. Harper is not a great outside shooter, and with major minutes going to De’Aaron Fox, Jeremy Sochan, and Stephon Castle, who are all unreliable outside shooters, it is imperative that the Spurs find someone who can create space for those players to attack the basket. Look for them to be very aggressive in pursuit of shooters to surround their major contributors. The other area I suspect the team would like to bolster is rebounding. Wemby averages double-digit boards, but the team needs to give him more help in that area. What makes this difficult is that because of the uniqueness of the Frenchman and the lack of spacing provided by his supporting cast, it can be difficult for a traditional big man to play alongside them. This means San Antonio may need to get additional rebounding from other spots on the floor. If they could find a Josh Hart type of player, it would really help their roster, but those types of players can be difficult to find. It would not surprise me to see the Spurs look to move pick 14 in a trade on draft night to find a player who complements their current talent rather than attempt to add another rookie to their lineup. At 14 a bigman, to add depth alongside Wemby, like France’s Joan Beringer, or Georgetown’s Thomas Sorber are possibilities.
New Orleans Pelicans
Needs: Health, Shot creation
Picks: 7, 23
The problem with having four guys each making at least 25 million dollars per year is that if your team isn’t good, there aren’t a lot of ways to make the team better. That’s where the Pels are currently at. They managed to move Brandon Ingram last season to the Raptors to clear some room, but large deals for Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, and Trey Murphy are keeping the Pels limited in their flexibility. Add to that the fact that so many of their players have gone through injuries that limited their availability for large chunks of the season, and it’s a recipe to be one of the worst teams in the league while also making other teams reticent to trade for the few valuable pieces the team has. Yves Missi was great for them as a rookie, but he’s also probably not the player you want to build around as one of your top players moving forward. Zion, when healthy and engaged is a dominant force, but it’s always going to be difficult to sustain winning when your best player has missed more games than he’s played over his career. Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that this roster can stay healthy this year. Murray and McCollum is a decent backcourt that can do some good things on both sides of the court. Zion is a beast who, while he can’t shoot the ball very well, can power through opponents. Trey Murphy has grown by leaps and bounds as an offensive player, and is still a capable defender when he doesn’t have to save his energy for the offensive end. Herbert Jones and Jose Alvarado are both defensive disruptors (albeit in different ways). And Missi is a double-double type center who showed growth as the season went on. So they have pieces to be a competent team, but I don’t think anybody believes this team is built for a deep playoff run. The best hope for this team is that they have a season where they largely stay healthy and either manages to make a run, or their players are able to garner trade interest and they can make a move or two to improve their roster. But for now, they are kind of stuck. They do have two first round picks this season, at 7 and 23. At 7, they would likely love for Ace Bailey of Rutgers to fall to them, but they could also benefit from having a shot creating guard fall to them, such as Tre Johnson of Texas or Jeremiah Fears of Oklahoma, who the team is said to be targeting. Ultimately, they need somebody that can make the game easier for the pieces they have in place.
Memphis Grizzlies
Needs: Long-term SG, Big to complement Edey
Picks: 16, 48, 56
Memphis already made their first major splash of the offseason, trading Desmond Bane to the Magic. They got an absolute haul for him, and at least in the short-term, Kentavious Caldwell Pope should be able to do just about everything for them that Bane did, and long-term, the team gained draft capital. As part of the deal, they landed the 16th pick, and assuming they are going to continue building around Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant (although there is a possibility that the team pivots away from the track) then the 16th pick could offer some insight as to how they view their team. Zach Edey was an excellent pick for them last season and allowed them to play around a giant in the paint. While he is expected to be injured to start next season, it wouldn’t shock me to see them look at big men with the 16th pick capable of playing a more small ball approach to counter some of Edey’s weaknesses. Georgia’s Asa Newell, South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles , or French big Joan Beringer could all be options. They could also take long, hard looks at Colorado State’s Nique Clifford, or Carter Bryant of Arizona or to fill their long-term need for a Bane replacement. However, there is a small chance that Memphis believes their current roster has taken them as far as they can take them and looks to make another major shakeup and moves either Morant or JJJ, but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting on it. It’s possible, but not necessarily likely.
Houston Rockets
Needs: Stay healthy, bring back Fred VanVleet
Picks: None
The Rockets did it; they made the move for Kevin Durant. Now, as a second apron team that has pushed all their chips in on making a run at a championship, they need to stay healthy and bring back Fred VanVleet to maximize their opportunity at a ring. What I like about this move is that it allows them to be super aggressive in trying to win it all, but still maintain long-term flexibility. They kept most of their young core to surround the aging Durant with, and if it doesn’t work out, after next season they have the ability to create a ton of cap space to go after another major name. The Rockets were already the two seed in the West, and now with Durant, they look like a better team than they were at the start of the offseason. By hanging on to Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore, and Reed Sheppard, the team is still young, but those young players will have an opportunity to play alongside and learn from one of the best offensive players to ever play the game. Losing Dillon Brooks hurts their defense, and that is something that they will be looking for someone to step up and provide in this lineup, but this was an aggressive move from Houston that honestly seems to be a pretty cheap investment for a team that isn’t taking on a lot of long-term risk. This should be one of the most intriguing teams to watch this upcoming season, and we will see how long it takes KD to acclimate to yet another new environment late in his career. They go into the 2025 draft with no picks after also moving their 59th pick in the KD deal.
