To get us through the late-Summer doldrums of the NBA, we’re reviewing teams from around the league and how their offseasons went.
Dallas Mavericks
Key Additions:
Klay Thompson
Naji Marshall
Spencer Dinwiddie
Quentin Grimes
Kessler Edwards
Key Losses:
Josh Green
Tim Hardaway Jr
Derrick Jones Jr
Markieff Morris
Offseason Review and 2024-25 Season Outlook:
The Dallas Mavericks had a really nice bounce-back season last year. Coming off a 38-win season where they missed the playoffs entirely, the Mavs drafted well, adding Derrick Lively II, and swung some win-now trades at the deadline to acquire PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford. The result was a surprise run all the way to the NBA Finals, and the Mavericks spent this summer building on that success.
While I have my doubts about Klay Thompson’s fit alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, as well as my doubts about Klay’s overall ability to produce at this stage of his career, he’s still a proven shooting threat with championship experience. A change of scenery also allows Klay to move into a role befitting his late-career and post-injury abilities. Aside from Klay, I the Mavs made several other solid moves this summer. I love the Naji Marshall signing (he was one of my dream targets for the Kings this summer) as a versatile wing off the bench. Quentin Grimes has nice upside, and Kessler Edwards is a great value on a two-way contract. More importantly, none of their offseason moves cost them any of their key contributors from their Finals run.
I still have my doubts about Jason Kidd as a coach, and I think the Mavs may struggle to incorporate Klay into the fold. It wouldn’t surprise me if Dallas spends a good chunk of the season in the 4-7 seed range of the West, but in the playoffs the Mavs will still be a formidable team this season based on the talent they’ve assembled.
Why We Hate Them:
Luka Doncic, prepared two ways. First we get the never-ending reminders that the Kings could have drafted him but didn’t. That’s painful enough, but then we also have to deal with the incessant whining and complaining when he’s playing. Luka is an incredible, franchise-altering player, but my god is he annoying to watch. It’s the one thing that keeps me from being too hung up about him not being a King. Oh, and another thing! His flopping resulted in Monk getting injured, costing Monk his 6th Man of the Year award. Screw you, Luka.
Just to try to close the book on the Kings not drafting Luka, one of the things that annoyed me about the decision was not just Vlade passing him over, it was him not understanding how other GMs felt about Luka (and Bagley, for that matter). I think very few GMs had MB going second, so why didn’t Vlade swap picks with Dallas or Atlanta and get a player or a pick and then taking MB? I’m annoyed enough with the way Luka plays that I’m OK with not having to root for him, but geez, it just adds to the huge whiff by Vlade not getting more from the original bad decision to pass on Luka at 2.
Weren’t there moments in the playoffs that Luka cut the whining and just played like a normal—but very talented—player? I seemed to remember enjoying his talents, which I can’t do when he is acting like a two-year-old.
It’s funny because there are many players whining about just as much (cough LBJ, cough Ant), but somehow the focus is mainly on Luka.
The solution is simple. Better and stricter officiating.
But the protecting of star players is a reminder that the NBA is more about entertainment than about a fair competition and the integrity of the game.
(This comment was not sponsored by Fan Duel)
I’ll be checking Mav’s box scores looking for Klank’s 2-9 shooting nights.
Wow, you think he’ll shoot that well?
I recall an 0 for 10 night.
Overrated. They played above themselves last year and while I do think they actually got better over the off-season (Marshall is good & tough, Grimes could get there and was a nice replacement for losing Green) but I don’t think they’ll be able to replicate their recent success. Also, that contract to Thompson is awful.
It’s a reminder that the playoffs are about matchups.
And another reason that we want to see the Kings reach a top 6 spot. They can’t control who they play, but they will match up better with some teams than others, whether they are lower or higher ranked then them.
Having a Play-In spot and then they have to play a winner takes all against the Pels again. Yikes! or the Lakers. Yay! or the Rockets. Boo! or the Clippers. Yes!
As the Summer suns begins to wane, I can start to feel the low heat rise for the upcoming season. Anyone catch the Domas and DeRozan (and Huerter and Boogie Ellis and Doug Christie) SoCal workouts?
Oh, and I just don’t get all the disparaging remarks about Klay Thompson. Helluva player when he was healthy. Wish he had been a King. He’s not the player he was, but despite the age, mileage and injury history, he’s solid off a bench. He’s got a gym rat mentality that I always admired.
The Whine brothers
Now the Mavs have two of the first team all-NBA whiners in Luka and klank.
They did improve and that looked close to impossible given the cap scenario. They dumped some not helpful pieces and added some potential help.
That said, you play 5 at a time and the Kings, if they play up to potential, match up well. Keon needs to bother Luka.
The joy in the Mavericks is watching them play basketball. Kyrie and Luka are generational phenoms. The rest of the team is pretty good too. The organization knows what they have and they are going all in on winning while they have it. My sister has season tickets in Dallas and the live game experience is always impressive when i am able to go.
Luka and the Kings are two totally differentiated things at this point. Luka is chasing championships and global stardom. The Kings are chasing relevance. That is far deeper than not drafting Luka. That draft was a symptom of a broken organization. If Luka was a King that same broken organization would have easily off set anything Luka brought to them.
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