Well, the Mavericks still don’t have any young stars in the making, but there are some players with bright futures. Brandan Wright immediately comes to mind, an athletic big man who seems to have found a home in Dallas after bouncing around the league. He played a major role in the last two months of the 2012-13 season and should be a crucial rotation player this season.
First-round pick Shane Larkin already suffered a setback, breaking his ankle in a practice, but should receive some backup point guard minutes throughout the season. Meanwhile, second-round pick Ricky Ledo has shown high upside but has a lot of room to grow.
Finally, 2012 second-round pick Jae Crowder played in 78 games last season but had a miserable Summer League, showing no improvement on his below-average jump shot.
4. Can the old guys anchor the defense? Shawn Marion and Samuel Dalembert have combined for zero NBA All-Defensive teams throughout their careers, yet still have the reputation as two of the league’s premier defenders. This season, the Mavericks are going to ask a lot of the two veterans and pray their age doesn’t start to take effect.
In the backcourt, Ellis and new acquisition Jose Calderon are known as defensive liabilities. A lot of pressure falls to the 35-year-old Marion, who has guarded point guards and power forwards alike in his 14 seasons, to slow down the best perimeter player of the other team. Although age hasn’t seemed to have an impact yet, it is only a matter of time until Marion’s body starts breaking down.
It couldn’t have been coincidence that the Mavericks won a championship the one season they put an elite defensive center next to Nowitzki in Tyson Chandler. It would be great if Dalembert could duplicate those results, but he turned 32 this year, and the Mavericks will need to look for a long-term solution soon.
5. Will the Mavericks be good enough to lure free agents next summer? Despite two consecutive seasons 
sporting enough cap space to sign a max player, the Mavericks have come away empty, largely due to a roster that – besides Nowitzki – wasn’t attractive enough to lure a big name.
Dallas will once again have cap space in 2014. Nowitzki’s $22.7 million contract comes off the books, and he is expected to re-sign at a significant discount. The expiring deals of Marion and Vince Carter will free up around $12.3 million.
But if the Mavericks once again struggle and miss the playoffs, their free agency pitch will be no different from previous years. Unless Dallas shows it is a player away from contending in the 2014-15 season, there is no reason for a top-tier free agent to come to a different conclusion than Deron Williams or Dwight Howard did when courted by Dallas.
The coming season is a crossroads for the Mavericks. Will they swing some deals and make a smooth transition into the post-Dirk era or fall deep into the lottery? Stay tuned.
MAVERICKS SALARIES AND ANALYSIS
Tim Cato is the manager for Mavs Moneyball and journalism student at the University of North Texas. He is a fan of all the Dallas sports teams and has somehow never needed counseling. You can follow him on Twitter.