How Bad are NBA GMs? Ep. 7 - Dallas Mavericks
In this series I will be breaking down every impactful transaction in the NBA to better understand the performance of the average NBA GM. Since the vast majority of decisions made by GMs cannot be proven to be good or bad immediately, we will start in the year 2018. Weight = how impactful the action is/was for the franchise. Rating = quantifying the decision in hindsight from 1-10, 10 being excellent and 1 being terrible. GM - Donnie Nelson (2005-2019) Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports Heading into 2018 the Mavericks record was 13-25. Preseason expectations had them at 22nd of 30 teams. A 40-year-old Dirk Nowitzki managed to play in 77 games but was clearly ineffective. The only assets at the Mavericks disposal at this point were 20-year-old Dennis Smith Jr, 24-year-old Dorian Finney-Smith and 23-year-old Nerlens Noel - fine rotational pieces but nothing much more. Dwight Powell, however, was also having a very solid sophomore y...