Seth Curry entered free agency this summer as one of the top shooters on the market, but as the league has moved away from specialists, it remained to be seen what would be out there for the sharpshooting guard.
Curry averaged 9.2 points per game on 46.3/40.5/92.7 shooting splits in Brooklyn last year, but found himself in a less than ideal roster situation, particularly after the trade deadline. The Nets had a number of wings and not a lot of ball-handlers, which tasked Curry with being more of a point guard than he is comfortable being (per Basketball-Reference, 35 percent of his time on the court was as a point guard). Where he goes next will likely need to be somewhere with a more defined off-ball role for him, where he can thrive as a spot-up shooter, which remains his elite NBA skill. On a smaller Nets team towards the end of the season, his skillset was not a great fit and he struggled to find the same level of success he in previous stops where he was able to play in a more comfortable role.
As free agency began, Curry ended up looking to go back to one of those previous stops, as he agreed to a two-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks, per Adrian Wojnarowski. Curry’s deal will be for the $4.5 million bi-annual exception, per Tim MacMahon.
Free agent guard Seth Curry has agreed on a two-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks, co-head of @CAA_Basketball Austin Brown tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2023
Sources: The Mavericks used their $4-plus million biannual exception on Seth Curry, a 43.5% career 3-point shooter returning for his third stint in Dallas. https://t.co/OJqOgrOFEr
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) July 1, 2023
Last time Curry was in Dallas he averaged 12.4 points on 49.5/45.2/82.5 shooting splits, as he very much enjoyed being a floor-spacer for Luka Doncic. Now he’ll go back to that role, bringing some bench shooting pop for Doncic and Kyrie Irving, who Dallas re-signed earlier in the night, and hope that a return to a comfortable situation can again bring out the best in him. For Dallas, it’s a good value signing on a guy whose reputation has dipped over the last year or two, but they will know how to maximize him and he has a rapport with their top stars already.