Though the Dallas Mavericks had a fairly successful season, one glaring weakness kept shining through. The lack of a competent big to roll down the lane and catch lobs from Luka Doncic kept the Mavericks’ offense from being elite. Dwight Powell served this purpose in 2019-20, but he just wasn’t the same after his Achilles’ tendon injury, and was ineffective in 2020-21.
The Mavericks obviously didn’t want to use Kristaps Porzingis in this manner. Willie Cauley-Stein was brought in on a cheap contract to see if he could contribute as a roll man and rim protector, but that experiment failed as well.