Building a contending NBA team is certainly not easy. In fact, it’s a goal that hundreds of professionals are trying to accomplish every year. The vast majority of them fail.
With that said, the formula for building one is relatively simple. It starts with acquiring a top 5ish player. From that point, it’s about putting as much talent around that player as possible. Making sure that talent fits with that player is equally essential.
The Dallas Mavericks have their top 5ish players. If Luka Doncic isn’t in that group, he’s on the very periphery of it. He’s certainly one of the absolute best offensive players in the NBA. Now, the Mavericks are tasked with putting optimal talent around him.
On the other hand, nobody can question Nikola Jokic’s status in the league’s top 5. He’s the NBA’s back-to-back MVP. The Nuggets have put a lot of talent around him too.
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With that said, whether it fits his style is, in some cases, a matter of debate.
In particular, Aaron Gordon’s relatively weak floor spacing does not optimize Jokic’s playmaking. Here’s a deal that sends him off to the Dallas Mavericks.