While Daniel Gafford has never made a 3-pointer in his career, new Dallas Mavericks head coach Dusty May is challenging him to start shooting rhythm 3-pointers in Dallas' new offense. It's impossible to know if this is going to work effectively for Gafford and the Mavericks, but if Gafford becomes a respectable threat from outside, the Mavericks are going to need to rethink shopping him on the trade market.
Gafford has been in trade rumors since early last season, and many fans and analysts thought it was a foregone conclusion that Dallas was going to find a trade for him this summer, especially with how crowded Dallas' frontcourt is. However, he projects to be Dallas' opening-night starting center, as 22-year-old Dereck Lively II is still working to fully recover from foot surgery.
Gafford is far more indispensable if he's making 3-pointers
In one of Dallas' recent practices, Gafford went 1-for-1 from downtown during live action, as May wants him to be more of a connector offensively, and to not shy away from shooting an open look from outside if the defense is taking him for granted.
As unlikely as it may seem, it's definitely not impossible for Gafford to evolve his offensive game to fulfill these duties. Players like Onyeka Okongwu and Bam Adebayo just started shooting 3-pointers consistently last season, and it added a new wrinkle to both of their teams' offenses. If Gafford can follow suit with these other big men, his trade value is going to increase, but he would become so important to Dallas' offense that they no longer need to shop him.
Gafford is a top 10-15 center if he adds a respectable jumper
Gafford is already an elite finisher and lob-catcher, as well as a solid rim protector, so adding a fairly consistent 3-pointer would probably make him one of the top 10-15 centers in the league. As crowded as Dallas' frontcourt is, there'd be no reason to trade that caliber of player at 27 years old and in the middle of his prime, unless a team was offering a tremendous package in return.
Of course, Gafford has to prove he can actually be somewhat consistent from outside in real NBA games, or all of this is pure smoke. Mavericks fans know all too well that Jason Kidd said Lively II was going to shoot more 3-pointers after Lively II made one in Game 4 of the 2024 NBA Finals, only for Lively II to never start shooting 3-pointers in games.
Only time will tell if Gafford is efficient enough of a shooter to take rhythm 3-pointers, but it's not like he's completely incapable, as he's shown flashes of knocking down shots from outside in pro-am runs before, so it will be interesting to see if that can translate when the lights are brighter. If it is able to translate, Gafford could quickly cement himself as one of the top centers in the game, as well as someone the Mavericks probably won't be tossing around in trade rumors all the time anymore.
