What if "Plan A" Becomes the Dream Come True for Dallas?
Last week, I wrote a fairly foreboding post about what could happen if Dallas strikes out on their top two targets, Mike Conley Jr., and Hassan Whiteside. In this post, I want all of us Mavs fans to look on the more optimistic side of things. What if these two sign? What if Dallas finally gets their big fish? What if most of the weight is finally lifted off of Dirk Nowitzki's shoulders? Remember, I'm not predicting this will come true. I'm not even saying this is the most realistic situation, but let's dig into this hopeful scenario, shall we?
Offensively
Obviously, we won't know what the rest of Dallas' roster is going to look like if Conley and Whiteside decide to jump on board, but we can assume that we'll know the starting lineup. Assuming both the studs will demand a max contract, Chandler Parsons will no longer have a spot on this roster if he wants the same amount of money. As much as I wish I could just turn to the easy cop out and say it doesn't matter if he walks because he's injured when it matters or that I would rather have Justin Anderson in there anyways, I can't. Realistically, if Parsons leaves, the Mavs lose a good three point shooter and a guy who can get really hot really quick. When CP looked 100% for the first time all year in the back half of the season, he was a force offensively as he was putting up 19 points per game and shooting 51% from outside. Tim MacMahon of ESPN mentioned that the Mavs would target Kent Bazemore, Evan Fournier, Evan Turner, and Marvin Williams if Parsons walks, but none of these guys are close to Parsons' level when it comes to the offensive side of the ball. If/when Parsons walks due to the signing of Mike and Hassan, Justin Anderson is Dallas' assumed new starter right away. Anderson is great and he's young, but he hasn't proven that he can produce offensively on the same level of Chandler Parsons yet. When Parsons went down with season ending knee surgery (again), Anderson proved he could start and provide production, but he still wasn't on the same level of Parsons. He's growing and could start for this team for a long time, but he just isn't there quite yet.
On the brighter side of things, Conley and Hassan Whiteside immediately bring a positive impact into the offense when compared to Dallas starters at their positions last season. Whiteside averages 14 points per game and shoots the ball at the league's third best 61%. Compare that to Zaza Pachulia's 9 points per game at 47%, and you instantly see what Hassan could do for this offense. But the other thing that Whiteside would bring to the offensive side of the ball will be his alley-oop threat. Pachulia couldn't jump over a piece of paper, but throw Whiteside into a pick-&-roll, and you will likely see his point guard lobbing the ball toward the rim for him to go finish. Carlisle has experienced a lot of success with centers like that in his career, and Whiteside could be a very strong continuation of that. He could very well end up being the best center he's coached since Jermaine O'Neal was in his prime in Indiana.
The second part of this equation is Mike Conley. Again, when you compare this potential new starter to his predecessor, you can see the difference. It isn't as drastic as Whiteside compared to Zaza, but it's definitely different. Conley put up 15.3 points per game, shot 36% from behind the arc, and dished out 6.1 assists per game. Williams, Dallas' starter last season put up 14.1 points, shot 34% from behind the line, and averaged 5.8 assists per game. In general, Conley will fit Dallas' offense better than Williams, and if he was healthy all season, his numbers likely would have been much higher than they were. But the offensive side of the ball isn't necessarily the main reason Dallas would love to bring in Mike Conley next season. This leads into the defensive changes that would come with Conley and Whiteside.
Defensively
This is where it gets really fun. If Parsons walks, Dallas would actually benefit on the defensive side of things with Justin Anderson being inserted into that starting lineup. We saw the rookie make plenty of top 10 worthy blocks and his length/strength allowed him to play on ball defense like a veteran. I don't need to spend as much time here explaining what we would gain/lose if Parsons walked. Long story short, our defense would take a step up if Justin Anderson became the starter. Same goes for if the Mavs were to bring in Evan Turner or Kent Bazemore. Williams and Fournier may be on about the same level of Parsons when it comes to defense.
Justin Anderson shows off his defensive ability as he stuffs the Nuggets 6'10 center, Nikola Jokić
Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
While Zaza was an excellent low post defender, he didn't provide any kind of rim protection due to his lack of ability to jump (I promise I loved Zaza, but really, the dude can't jump). Whiteside, on the other hand, led the NBA in blocks per game last season at 3.7. Last season, if someone like Lebron ,KD, or Russell Westbrook (I hate that guy) wanted to finish at the rim against Dallas, there really wasn't much resistance. Bring in Hassan Whiteside though, and those guys won't be finishing in the paint quite as often as they were against us. The Mavericks had a great rim protector for two different seasons in Tyson Chandler. One of those two years, we won the NBA Championship. Aka the best year of my life.
I've always loved watching Mike Conley play defense. As Devin Harris puts it, 'he's a pain in the butt'. Imagine a pest like JJ Barea, but bigger and stronger. He's just long and digs into whoever his assignment is on the ball. Deron Williams was slower and older and was never really known for his defense anyway. Conley, however, was basically drafter because of his defensive presence. A backcourt of Wes Matthews and Mike Conley would be one of the best defensive backcourts in the NBA right away. Both are great two way players, but both are known for their defense. I would love to watch that. With those two up front, Whiteside in the back, and Justin Anderson running around the perimeter, we may be able to just let Dirk cherry pick all game and not waste any energy on defense.
Mike Conley ties up Minnesota's Gorgui Dieng in the post
Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
Overall
Besides the statistic improvements, a double signing of Whiteside and Conley would give the Mavericks something huge. A hope for the future. Conley is only 28 and Whiteside is 27. Put Justin Anderson in the starting lineup at 22 years old and your starting five's average age drops from 32 years old to 29. That would be a thing of beauty. It also takes most of the scoring pressure off of Dirk, and he can rest a little more on the defensive end with a dominant defensive player like Whiteside playing next to him. In my mind, this move would make Dallas as high as a 3 seed in the west and as low as a 5 seed depending on what Kevin Durant decides to do this summer. Our defense would likely become top tier with these two guys and our offense would most definitely jump up. This doesn't guarantee us a spot in the conference finals, but it almost certainly makes you think we can get past the first round for the first time since 2011.
It isn't going to be easy to convince these two to join forces in Dallas. Whiteside is getting calls from probably every team in the league. Conley has already narrowed down his teams to Dallas, San Antonio, and the only team he's played for, the Memphis Grizzlies. San Antonio never loses and Memphis is the only team he knows, so both of those will be hard to tell no. I believe if one says yes, the other says yes. It's that simple. Both are going to get the max and both are going to become the star players immediately. Whiteside's comments yesterday make me want to believe that the list of suitors he's narrowed it down to is Miami and Dallas, but you just can't count out a team like the Lakers. Whiteside said no state income tax will play a factor in his decision making, and Miami and Dallas are both within states that don't have that. Whiteside also said that his loyalty to Miami won't play a factor in his decision making. I want to say Dallas is the favorite to land the big man, which leads to landing Conley, but I'm just not that confident... yet.
