Luka Dončić has always made the passes. The Mavs hope they have the shooters now, too

Luka Dončić serves up the juiciest looks in the league, and a whole lot of them. The Dallas Mavericks‘ entire offense is built around his and Kyrie Irving‘s ability to bend defenses to their will, essentially guaranteeing an open look from somewhere on the floor — only if it can be found. Fortunately for Dallas, Dončić is one of the best passers of all-time. That advantage can go to waste, though, without shooters who can feast on those opportunities. The Mavericks’ summer moves suggest the front office recognized a major weakness which needed addressing, and if their efforts pay off, the league’s reigning scoring champ could soon win the assists crown, too.

The 2023-24 Mavs led the league in corner 3 attempts per game by far, nearly one attempt per game more than second-place Atlanta. But don’t confuse activity with productivity. Despite building a significant portion of the offense around the corner 3, a shorter, easier shot than those that come from atop the arc — and primarily being taken by wide-open shooters — the Mavs were a bottom-5 team at making them. Dallas converted on just 36.3 percent of those attempts, good for 27th in the league and worse than teams like Portland, Washington, San Antonio, and Toronto. In fact, the Mavericks were the only team in the NBA with a higher 3-point percentage from above the break than the corner.

For better or worse, any Dončić-led offense is going to take a ton of 3s, and the more the merrier from the corner. Luka is exceptional at delivering cross-court passes on time and on target; his average pass last season traveled 22.1 feet, according to Second Spectrum, the furthest in the league by half a foot. Dallas has finished top-5 in corner 3 attempts each of the last three seasons, but last year was the team’s worst shooting performance by far in that area. Many of those attempts were taken by P.J. Washington (23.9 percent) and the since-departed Derrick Jones Jr. (34.3 percent), but the Mavs didn’t get much help from ostensibly more reliable shooters like Maxi Kleber (21.9 percent) or Jaden Hardy (35.1 percent), who both saw a decline from their marks in 2022-23. In short, there’s a reason those guys were so open.

It would be great if the kickout option in the corner forced his defender to make a tougher choice when deciding whether to sag off and help on a Dončić drive or a big man’s rim-roll. After watching defenders simply ignore too many guys throughout the Mavs’ run to the Finals, Nico Harrison and the front office clearly had one focus: adding more shooting. What if the Mavericks could assemble a collection of shooters so dangerous that Oklahoma City’s decision to allow so many corner 3s would be considered tantamount to forfeiting, rather than a neat little gamble? What if Boston couldn’t hide a big man on a Mavs wing next time around? What if Dallas could still do a thing the most, but not be one of the worst at it?

Klay Thompson‘s résumé speaks for itself, but it would frankly be weird not to start with him. Thompson knocked down 39.6 percent of his corner 3s last season, which is shockingly his lowest in any full season as a pro. One would have to think that Dončić’s nightmarish influence on defenses will open up more pockets of space for Thompson, but even if he shoots his worst again, that would still represent a marked improvement for his new team.

Naji Marshall shot a career-best 42.0 percent from the corners last season, but only took 1.2 per game. He shot 28.3 percent across his three previous seasons, though. Could he increase volume while maintaining efficiency (or at least coming close)? The Mavericks certainly hope the answer is yes. Quentin Grimes, similarly, shot a blistering 47 percent from the corners during his first two seasons on a pro on around 2 attempts per game, but amid uncertain playing time, injury, and a trade dropped to 35.5 percent last season. One of those numbers is definitely better than the other.

Those three all figure to play major roles in the rotation, and with any internal improvement from Washington, Kleber, and Hardy (and maybe even Dereck Lively II, who knows?), the Mavericks could very quickly rise from the bottom toward the top. If the team’s floor spacers can become more reliable knockdown shooters, Dončić could sleepwalk his way to 10 assists per game. More promisingly, he and Irving won’t have to work as hard from October to April. If opponents are going to leave shooters open, the Mavs’ two superstars can let those guys do the heavy lifting.

Fans have grumbled about Dončić’s potential assists for years. If the Mavs’ plans come to fruition, those days might finally be behind us all.