Luka Dončić put up a historic triple-double in the Dallas Mavericks’ thrilling 126-121 overtime win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old recorded a career-high 60 points and a career-high 21 rebounds to go with 10 assists, helping the Mavericks come from nine points down with just 33 seconds of regulation time remaining.
It is the first time in NBA history that a player has reached that stat line.
“I’m tired as hell,” Dončić said after the game. “I need a recovery beer.”
In the past 20 seasons, all 13,884 NBA teams that have trailed by at least nine points with 35 seconds or fewer remaining have gone on to lose the game, according to ESPN.
However, in a dramatic final play, Dončić intentionally missed a free throw and then secured the rebound, before scoring the putback to tie the game and force overtime.
The Slovenian star scored 10 points in the final minute of regulation time and added seven more in overtime to pull off the most improbable of wins.
Dončić also joins James Harden as the only other player in NBA history to score a 60-point triple-double, and also becomes just the sixth player to record six or more 40-point triple-doubles after Oscar Robertson, Harden, Russell Westbrook, Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James.
“We just saw it on the screen right now,” Dončić said of his scoring feat. “We were watching NBA TV. I mean, it’s just incredible to be in those comparisons and just to be with those guys, at any stage. It’s amazing for me.”
Dončić’s 60 points also set a new franchise scoring record for Dallas, overtaking the 53 points scored by Dirk Nowitzki against Houston in 2004.
“Just with age, he has a birthday coming up here in the new year, I think he’s seen it all at the age of 23,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said of Dončić becoming a leader. “But just his competitiveness to win is at a very high level – and you saw that displayed tonight.
“Things weren’t going well. Give the Knicks credit, they were making a lot of threes that we didn’t think were possible. They were playing harder. We were down 10. We’ve been in this position earlier in the season, when you talk about giving up a lead or giving up a game like this.
“Just to be able to stay together and trust, Luka had a big part in that. He never was discouraged that the game was over. As you can see, he’s picking up full-court, we had a big jump ball. There’s a lot of things we’ve learned from our losses in close games like this.”
The Mavericks improve to 19-16 on the season and climb to sixth in the Western Conference, while the Knicks have now lost four straight to sit sixth in the East.
DALLAS — On the night of Dirk Nowitzki’s final home game, Dallas Mavericks governor Mark Cuban promised to have the “biggest, most badass statue ever” erected in front of the American Airlines Center to honor the legend.
“It’s a promise that gives me joy to deliver on, because you earned it,” Cuban told Nowitzki on Christmas morning, minutes before the nearly 24-foot-high statue was unveiled steps from the street renamed a few years ago as Nowitzki Way.
The white bronze statue is a sculpture of Nowitzki’s iconic one-legged fadeaway jumper, the same shot that is featured as silhouettes near the left block on both ends of the American Airlines Center court. The shot became known as “The Dirk” while Nowitzki climbed to the sixth spot on the NBA’s all-time scoring list and has become part of the repertoire of several current players, including the two stars facing each other on that floor Sunday afternoon, the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James and the Mavericks’ Luka Doncic.
Doncic and several other Mavericks attended the ceremony, as did coach Jason Kidd, a former teammate of Nowitzki’s.
“One more stop: the Hall of Fame,” Kidd said, referring to Nowitzki’s certain inclusion in the next Hall of Fame class as a first-ballot selection.
Artist Omri Amrany created the statue, one of several he’s made to honor NBA legends, including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal. The statue is rich with details, using the shoes and uniform that Nowitzki wore while leading the Mavericks to the 2010-11 NBA championship, the franchise’s lone title.
At the base of the statue, it reads: “Loyalty never fades away,” a tribute to Nowitzki spending his entire career in Dallas, setting an NBA record by playing 21 seasons for one franchise.
“I just kind of sat down, like, ‘What do people associate you with in Dallas?'” Nowitzki said. “It was these two things. It was the fadeaway and the loyalty. We kind of combined that. It was just a fun fact that it was 21 letters for the 21 years.”
This Sunday, the (13-19) Los Angeles Lakers will travel to Dallas, TX to take on the (17-16) Dallas Mavericks on Christmas Day. Tipoff will be at 2:30 PM EST inside the American Airlines Center. This will be the first time that these two teams have matched up this season, as I am expecting a battle in this one!
The Los Angeles Lakers are coming into this game after falling to the Charlotte Hornets, 134-130. They struggled on the defensive end of the court, as they will have to pressure more shooters in this game if they want to challenge the Mavs on the road.
The Dallas Mavericks are entering this matchup after defeating the Houston Rockets, 112-106. The Mavs looked great on the defensive end of the court, as they only allowed the Rockets to shoot 30.8% from behind the arc. They will have to continue contesting shots on the perimeter if they want to take care of business at home.
This game was written/published before last night’s results.
Can the Lakers Show Up on Christmas Day?
The Los Angeles Lakers are currently in 13th place in the Western Conference standings, as they are still 7.5 games back from the first-place Denver Nuggets. On offense, they are scoring 115.7 points per game and they are shooting 47.8% from the floor. This is the sixth most points scored per contest and the eighth-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, Los Angeles has an adjusted offensive rating of 111.3, which is the 24th-highest rating in the NBA. Lebron James continues to lead the way on the offensive end of the floor, as he is scoring 27.1 points per game on 49.3% from the field. Unfortunately, the Lakers have not been as impressive from behind the arc. They have only shot 33.6% from deep, which is the 26th-highest three-point shooting percentage in the league. Luckily, they have taken care of business at the charity stripe. The Lakers have made 79.5% of their shots at the stripe, which is the ninth-highest team free-throw shooting percentage. They can’t miss out on these free looks at the basket and still expect to win these games.
On the defensive end of the court, the Lakers have struggled to apply enough pressure to halt their opponents. They are currently allowing 117.8 points and their opponents have shot 47% from the floor. This is the 26th least amount of points surrendered per contest and the 16th lowest shooting percentage allowed. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Lakers have an adjusted defensive rating of 113.6, which is the 18th lowest rating in the NBA. Los Angeles has struggled to consistently contest shots near the rim, but their perimeter defense has saved them at different times. They are forcing their opponents to shoot 34.8% from behind the arc, which is the eighth-lowest three-point shooting percentage allowed in the league. Los Angeles is also snatching 44.8 rebounds per game, which is the seventh most.
Injury Report: Anthony Davis PF (Foot), Cole Swider PF (Foot), and Juan Toscano-Anderson SF (Ankle) are listed as out. Thomas Bryant C is listed as Day-to-Day.
Can the Mavs get Hot on Christmas?
The Dallas Mavericks are currently in eighth place in the Western Conference standings, as they are still four games back from the first-place Denver Nuggets. On offense, they are scoring 111 points per game and they are shooting 46.5% from the floor. This is the 23rd most points scored per contest and the 20th-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Mavs have an adjusted offensive rating of 114.4, which is the ninth-highest rating in the league. Luka Doncic continues to lead the way on the offensive end of the court, as he is scoring 32.8 points per game on 49.7% shooting from the field. Dallas has also shown that they can consistently score inside the paint or from the outside, as they are shooting 35.9% from behind the arc. This is the 14th-highest three-point shooting percentage, as they can score from anywhere on the floor. Unfortunately, the Mavericks have not taken advantage of their free looks at the charity stripe. They have made 74.1% of their shots at the stripe, which is the 26th-highest team free-throw shooting percentage in the NBA.
On the defensive end of the floor, the Mavs are surrendering 109.4 points per game and their opponents have shot 48% from the floor. This is the 2oth highest shooting percentage allowed and the 23rd most points surrendered. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Mavs have an adjusted defensive rating of 112.2, which is the 10th lowest rating in the NBA. The Dallas Mavericks have also shown that they will consistently contest shots from behind the arc. They are forcing their opponents to shoot 35.9% from deep, which is the 15th-lowest three-point shooting percentage allowed. The Mavs have also snatched 38.8 rebounds per game, which is the least in the NBA. They have to crash the offensive and defensive glass if they want to challenge the Lakers at home.
Injury Report: Reggie Bullock SF (Neck), Dorian Finney-Smith PF (Hip), and Jaden Hardy G (Back) are listed as questionable. Josh Green SG (Elbow) and Maxi Kleber (Hamstring) are out.
Best Bets for this Game
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
Rating:
I like the Dallas Mavs (-8.5) at home against the Los Angeles Lakers, as they have the advantage on the defensive end of the court. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Mavericks have the 10th lowest adjusted defensive rating and they are surrendering the sixth least amount of points per game. Los Angeles will also be without Anthony Davis in this game, as Lebron James is going to have to carry the load on the offensive end. I don’t see that working out, as the Mavs will get consistent stops and efficiently score throughout this game. Doncic was on fire the last time he was on the floor, as he scored 50 points against the Rockets. He will stay hot in this one and dominate on the offensive end of the court. Dallas also has the ninth-highest adjusted offensive rating, according to dunksandthrees.com. The Lakers have been horrible on the defensive end of the court, as they won’t stop the Mavs consistently throughout this game. They are surrendering the 26th most points per game and they have the 18th lowest adjusted defensive rating. They won’t get enough stops and the Mavericks will slowly pull away.
Pick the Mavericks and lay the points (-8.5) on Christmas Day!
Prediction: Dallas Mavericks -8.5
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Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
Rating:
I like the over (229.5) in this matchup, as both of these teams are going to consistently score throughout this game. The Lakers are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, as Dallas is going to consistently score. According to dunksandthrees.com, Los Angeles has the second-highest adjusted pace rating in the league, as they are going to efficiently push the ball up the court throughout this game. This will lead to more shot attempts, as each one of these teams will have plenty of opportunities to push this total over the number. Los Angeles is also scoring the sixth most points per game and they have the eighth-highest team shooting percentage. They will be able to score on this Dallas defense and do their part in pushing this total over the number. The Lakers have stunk defensively, though. They are allowing the 26th most points per game and their opponents have shot 47% from the floor. Luka and the Mavs will consistently attack the basket and score throughout this game.
Take the over (229.5) and expect a high-scoring, entertaining game on Christmas Day!
Prediction: Over 229.5
Written By
Mason Folz , “Mason Folz”
Mason graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder and he has been watching SportsCenter since before he could walk. He has been crunching numbers since he could learn to count and nothing makes Mason happier in this world than talking sports, unless he is on the golf course! We are very happy to have added Mason to our team at StatSalt and you will be glad as well. Let’s win some money!
The Dallas Mavericks have had perhaps the most frustrating season of any team in the Western Conference this season, and things just went from bad to worse on Monday in a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. That defeat, their 16th of the season, dropped the Mavericks below .500, but it wasn’t just the loss itself that will bother Dallas fans. It was the way in which it came.
With the Mavericks trailing in the third quarter, Luka Doncic tried to draw a foul by initiating contact with defender Jaden McDaniels before a shot. He didn’t get the whistle. When Doncic complained, he was quickly issued two technical fouls and ejected. Coach Jason Kidd came to his defense, and he too was ejected.
Doncic has been noticeably frustrated with officials all season, but the numbers suggest he’s getting plenty of calls. He’s averaging a career-high 10.3 free throw attempts per game this season. Of course, he also has a career-high 38 percent usage rate, but even once that is adjusted for, his 45.3 percent free throw rate is also a career-best. By that measure, Doncic is getting more calls than ever.
He needs them, because the team Dallas has put around him is otherwise incapable of generating offense. The absence of Jalen Brunson, who is thriving in New York, has put an enormous burden on Doncic’s shoulders. Doncic is feeling that burden, and he let his frustration get the better of him on Monday. With the Mavericks now tied for 10th in the Western Conference, it’s hard to blame him.
The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Portland Trail Blazers at home Friday night by a score of 130-110. Luka Doncic led Dallas with 33 points, six rebounds, and nine assists. Dame Lilliard led the Blazers in defeat.
Dallas started the game looking rather sluggish, failing to get stops while Luka missed his first few attempts on the other end. The team seemed a bit disinterested, but Tim Hardaway Jr. came out of the gates on fire and kept the Mavericks afloat until they could find their offensive footing. A step-back three from Luka with 1.5 seconds left in the period made the score 32-31, Portland after one.
The second quarter featured Christian Wood and Doncic taking turns assaulting the Portland defense. Wood scored 15 points in the frame, showcasing every facet of his offensive game and helping the Mavs build a double-digit lead. After he exited for a breather, Doncic returned and rattled off 11 points of his own. Portland was able to close the gap a bit, thanks in large part to a parade to the free throw line by Damian Lillard, but a good close to the quarter let the Mavericks take a 72-63 lead into the locker room.
The Mavericks came out guns blazing in the third quarter, playing some of their best basketball in a long while and pushing the lead to as many as 28 points. Quite simply, it was their most impressive quarter of the season. They completely dominated the Trail Blazers and everyone who played contributed to that. For these 12 minutes, basketball was as fun as it’s been in 2022-2023. The Mavericks put up 110 (!!!) points through three frames and led 110-85 heading into the fourth.
Garbage time came early in the fourth, as Portland never deployed their starters again and the end-of-bench dudes came in before the period was half over. JaVale McGee, the human victory cigar, appeared and the Mavs cruised to a 20-point win. The starters got some rest in the fourth, which is huge since they play Cleveland again tomorrow night.
It was a fun night of basketball, and here’s what stood out:
Luka Doncic loves playing against Portland
Doncic came into tonight’s game averaging 30.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 7.9 assists on .498/.413/.762 shooting splits in his career against the Trail Blazers. He averages more points against Portland than every other non-Clippers team in the league. We know that Luka gets up for big games and big matchups, and something about going against Damian Lillard brings out the absolute best in him. Doncic was masterful tonight, putting up a casual 33/6/9 on great shooting in three quarters and controlling the pace of play all night long.
This Mavericks team needs Luka to set the tone to be successful and he did that tonight. Hopefully, taking the fourth quarter off helps him stay fresh and ready to do it again against Cleveland tomorrow.
The Mavericks are a different team when threes fall
It’s been said ad nauseam, but this Mavericks team is a completely different animal on both sides of the floor when they’re hitting shots. It sounds simple and obvious, but their defensive effort and energy is just so much more pronounced when guys are knocking down threes. Tonight, they shot 41.9 percent on 43 attempts and were especially hot in the third quarter. Not surprisingly, they held Portland to 22 points in the third and just 47 in the second half. Everything was clicking, and it would be nice to see this kind of effort more frequently.
Christian Wood had his best game as a Maverick
Maxi Kleber is going to be out for an extended period of time. As a result, the Mavericks have no choice but to lean into a more offensive mindset at the big man position and let Christian Wood cook. Tonight, we saw what that looks like when Wood is at the top of his game. He was absolutely sensational against Portland, putting up a monster double-double with 32 points and 12 rebounds on 11-of-17 shooting.
He took over in the second quarter and gave the Mavericks a big lead they would never look back from, and executed a brilliant two-man game in the third quarter alongside Luka Doncic. He did bad things to Jusuf Nurkic and the Blazers simply did not have an answer for him.
Wood is a polarizing player, and he’s definitely not a perfect fit with this roster, but he is incredibly gifted offensively and it’s fun to watch when he’s firing on all cylinders.
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DALLAS — — Luka Doncic scored 35 points, his eighth consecutive game of at least 30 to begin the season, as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Toronto Raptors 111-110 on Friday night.
The only other NBA player to score 30 or more points in the first eight games of a season was Wilt Chamberlain, who did it in the first eight of the 1959-60 season and the first 23 of 1962-63.
Doncic played 37 minutes and passed the 30-point mark with 18.7 seconds left in the third quarter on a turnaround fadeaway jumper. It was a balanced night for the 23-year-old superstar: 10 for 15 from the floor, 3 for 6 from downtown, 12 for 14 at the free throw line, eight rebounds and six assists.
That included one assist on a spin move through a double team, one basket following a flurry of dribbles between his legs, a hook shot to cap the 16-2 run beginning the second half and the floater late in the third period.
“He did everything tonight,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “Did he go through his legs like eight times? When he shot that little floater, I just kind of chuckled because only he can do that.
“He surprises a lot of people. I wonder if he surprises himself sometimes.”
Does he?
“Yeah, sometimes,” Doncic said with a smile. “The best play was my hook shot. Those plays are fun. Later you see them on TV. Everybody talks about them.”
Doncic leads the NBA averaging 36.0 points per game with 8.6 assists in 36.6 minutes.
The Raptors cut a 19-point third-quarter deficit to 108-105 with 35.5 seconds left. Doncic sank the first of two free throws with 15.9 seconds to gain a four-point lead. O.G. Anunoby drove for a dunk with 11 seconds left. Spencer Dinwiddie hit two free throws with 3 seconds to go, making the score 111-107. Anunoby hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Dinwiddie had 21 points and seven assists for the Mavericks, who have won three straight games after splitting their first six.
Anunoby scored 27 points, Pascal Siakam 18 and Chris Boucher 17 off the bench for the Raptors. Siakam left the game in the third quarter with what coach Nick Nurse said is probably a groin injury.
DINWIDDIE CALLS OUT OFFICIAL
Dinwiddie, called for a technical foul in the final minute of the second period, said he was told by a teammate that the official, Tony Brothers, described him with multiple curse words.
“NBA, I would definitely like my money back,” Dinwiddie said. “If there’s anybody that feels that way about me … they can address me personally, face to face.”
“I have to talk to Spencer,” Kidd said. “When you look at Tony, what he’s done in this league as a referee, he’s well liked and also one of the best that we have. That’s a sensitive topic.”
TIP-INS
Raptors: They made 10 steals, nearly equaling their league-leading 10.8 per game, but only outscored the Mavericks 27-26 in points off turnovers. … G Fred VanVleet, fourth in the NBA in steals, missed his third-consecutive game with lower back stiffness. Nurse said he thought VanVleet would play after going through a full practice on Thursday. “I’m expecting him pretty soon to be back,” Nurse said.
Mavericks: C Dwight Powell, a Toronto native, made his second start of the season, replacing JaVale McGee in the starting lineup. Powell had nine points and two rebounds in 26 minutes.
UP NEXT
Raptors: Begin a home-and-home with Chicago at home on Sunday.
Mavericks: Host Brooklyn on Monday.
——
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP–Sports
NEW YORK — — When Luka Doncic’s pass to Reggie Bullock with a second left in regulation led to a missed shot, the Dallas Mavericks weren’t discouraged.
They knew their superstar teammate would keep creating more chances for them — and they did their jobs when he did.
Doncic had 41 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds, setting up three 3-pointers in overtime to send the Mavericks to a 129-125 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
“We’re just trying to do the best we can to make his job a lot easier out there on the floor when he gives the ball up, and the only way you can do that is knock down shots and take them with confidence and make a play,” Tim Hardaway Jr. said.
Doncic found Hardaway, Maxi Kleber and Bullock for 3s in the extra period as Dallas built a nine-point lead en route to its first road victory of the season.
“Obviously, Luka is probably the best guy to make tough shots and make shots when they count, but he also knows when to make the right basketball plays,” Kleber said. “And especially when we came into overtime, they were like really aggressive with him and he made the right play, I don’t know, three or four times in a row. We just got hot and made all those shots.”
Doncic also had two baskets in overtime on the way to becoming the 10th player in NBA history with three 40-point triple-doubles.
Kyrie Irving scored 39 points and Kevin Durant had 37 for the Nets, who have run into some of the NBA’s most dynamic players this week and fallen short each time. First it was Ja Morant with 38 points in Memphis and then Giannis Antetokounmpo with 43 on Wednesday night in Milwaukee.
This time it was Doncic, who had scored more than 30 points in each of the first three games and now has his first 40-point game of the season, with his drives into the middle setting up open looks all around him.
“When we attack the paint, we’re a very dangerous team,” Doncic said.
The Nets fell to 1-4.
“I felt like we did some good things tonight but it just wasn’t good enough,” Irving said.
The game was briefly delayed in overtime when a fan threw what appeared to be a cup of ice that landed on the court near the Dallas bench.
The Mavs led by two with under a minute remaining in regulation and appeared to have an insurance basket when Durant was called for goaltending on Doncic’s drive. But the call was overturned on replay, allowing the Nets to tie it when Ben Simmons stole the ball from Doncic and set up Durant for a dunk with 8.8 seconds remaining.
Doncic passed to Bullock on the next possession but his jumper from the corner missed.
But Doncic scored 16 seconds into overtime to give the Mavs the lead for good, then found Hardaway for a 3. After Irving made two free throws, Kleber and Bullock hit consecutive 3s to make it 123-114.
Simmons finished with seven points, eight rebounds and four assists. He matched his season high for points despite shooting an airball on a short attempt in the first half.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Dallas begins a five-game homestand that ends with the return matchup with the Nets on Nov. 7. … Hardaway scored 18 points after missing the loss in New Orleans on Tuesday because of right foot soreness.
Nets: G Seth Curry, who hasn’t played this season while recovering from left ankle surgery, practiced with the Nets’ G League team Thursday. Coach Steve Nash said he is getting closer to playing and the team would see how he feels Friday.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Host Oklahoma City on Saturday.
Nets: Open a two-game series against Indiana on Saturday.
The Dallas Mavericks have been anticipating Jalen Brunson’s likely departure for weeks, multiple league sources tell The Athletic, and it’s now seen as a certainty that the 25-year-old guard will sign with the New York Knicks when free agency opens on Thursday.
While the team entered the offseason believing Brunson preferred a return to Dallas, it’s understood that what New York can offer — a lucrative contract, more opportunity and family ties — has been an influential factor for Brunson’s impending decision.
So far, it’s unclear to what extent money will factor into Brunson’s decision — ESPN reported that Dallas would have offered less money annually than the four-year, $100-plus million offer New York is preparing — versus the other competing factors, such as Brunson’s father Rick joining the Knicks’ coaching staff and several other close ties Brunson has to the New York organization. But the Mavericks’ players and executives have understood the increasing likelihood of Brunson’s departure as an unrestricted free agent in past weeks. (Last Thursday, Marc Stein had the offseason’s first substantial report on the possibility.) Within the Mavericks’ organization, conversations have shifted from re-signing Brunson to replacing his production, as well as the possibility of a sign-and-trade deal involving Brunson that could at least prevent Dallas from losing him for nothing.
Like the Mavericks, Brunson may also have entered this offseason believing he would return to Dallas, sources say, and it’s unclear when and why those feelings shifted. If there was one uncomfortable aspect of his past season, in which Brunson otherwise enjoyed breakout success as the Mavericks’ second option, it was the team’s decision to withhold an offer of an extension before the season — and then, once again, during it. It’s unclear whether Brunson would have actually signed the four-year, $55.5 million deal, the most Dallas was eligible to offer him during the year. While Rick Brunson told ESPN in April that his son would have been willing to sign it in January, there was substantial belief around the league that, at that point, Brunson had already played himself into more lucrative territory. In any case, the extension was never formally offered.
Brunson’s official departure from the Mavericks would be seen as a blow, even if it has recently been anticipated. When the Mavericks’ season ended in the Western Conference finals last month, the team’s general manager Nico Harrison said re-signing Brunson was the team’s main priority. In the closing months of the season, Dallas embraced its ability to rotate three playmaking guards, something which fueled the team’s deeper-than-anticipated postseason run. It would be surprising for the team not to replicate that approach next season, which would necessitate Brunson’s replacement in some manner.
As it stands, Dallas will enter next season with a roster that is about $7 million over the luxury-tax threshold, making them a tax-paying team for the first time since the 2010-11 NBA season. That has been the main argument for retaining Brunson at any cost, even if it would have vaulted the Mavericks well beyond the taxed penalty they would currently pay if the roster remains the same.
Still, Dallas is anticipated to remain above the luxury-tax line this offseason with further moves expected. It’s become clear, however, that the future they’re preparing for is one without Brunson in it.
It’s impossible to tell fans of a team like the Dallas Mavericks that just made the Western Conference Finals that they are closer to being a first-round exit team than they are a title contender, but that’s exactly what I believe to be true.
Let’s go through a few reasons just off the top of my head:
The Nuggets, missing Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. and the Clippers, missing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, will be much better with a return to health.
The Warriors outclassed the Mavericks and proved that their one-dimensional attack on offense was guardable by elite defenses.
On paper, the Mavericks are probably the fifth or sixth best team in the Western Conference. If Zion Williamson and the Pelicans hit the ground running and the Timberwolves solve their point guard issues, they could end up in the seventh or eighth.
At the moment, the Mavericks find themselves in the same position the 2019 Trail Blazers did. After an unlikely conference finals run, the team believed they were a move or two away from being a title contender. Subsequent early exits in the playoffs over the next couple of years proved that notion false.
So here we are, at a crossroads. To be very clear, the Mavericks have no one to blame for the current situation but themselves. Tim MacMahon of ESPN reported on the Hoop Collective podcast that Jalen Brunson was prepared to accept an extension similar to the one signed by Dorian Finney-Smith but the Mavericks balked in hopes of being able to land a star at the deadline. Signing Brunson to that extension would have made it impossible to include him in any packages and with limited trade chips, leaving him out of any trade proposals would have been a nonstarter for other teams. While the Maverick’s logic may seem sound, a little self-awareness would reveal the truth. Were a superstar to become available, it seems unlikely that Dallas could outbid any other suitor.
The Mavericks went all-in with pocket 2’s and now find themselves in a lose-lose situation. Here are the paths I see:
Door 1: Brunson leaves to a team with cap space and the Mavs lose him for nothing.
Door 2: Brunson chooses a team without the necessary amount of cap space to sign him outright. Because of base year compensation rules outlined by our very own @CBAMavs, a sign and trade would be difficult to pull off and is unlikely to net the Mavs anything of substance.
Door 3: The Mavericks overpay for an undersized guard without elite athleticism that will likely never make an All-Star game. I love Brunson and appreciate the hard work he put in to maximize his talent. At the same time, I’d be lying if I said he was a top 40 player. In fact, he may not be top 50.
Doors 1 and 2 would be an immediate hit to the Mavs’ short-term outlook and would certainly knock them down a peg or two for the upcoming season. Door 3 would push the Mavericks well into the tax with a roster that had six or seven playoff caliber players in the current rotation and would leave them with few, if any, realistic avenues to improve the team in the near future.
So, what will the Mavericks do? Unless Brunson believes the Knicks or some other team can offer him a larger role and opportunity to showcase himself, Dallas can and will offer Brunson what he wants. But is that what the Mavericks should do?
Locking in a team whose ceiling is a fluky WCF run shouldn’t be the goal. The Tax Payer MLE isn’t getting Dallas over the top. With no players capable of taking a significant jump, internal improvement won’t get them there either. I was pounding the table for Christian Wood before we traded for him but even I can admit he alone does not make us a title contender. More minutes for Josh Green isn’t the answer. Maxi Kleber, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Reggie Bullock are what they are. Spencer Dinwiddie is a question mark but an increase in usage could result in a decrease in efficiency unless he attacks the rim at a higher rate.
Overall, the Mavs have a good team. This year showed that with some breaks and outlier shooting performances, they match up well with certain teams. However, with a top five player on your team, that simply isn’t good enough. Anything short of a championship-level roster should be considered a failure for this team.
That being said, let’s take a look at some of the arguments we’re seeing throughout fandom
The Mavericks are already over the cap, why does it matter what we pay Brunson?
For years, I’ve been irritated by the notion that Mark Cuban is cheap. Fans point to the fact that he hasn’t paid the luxury tax in years and believe that is a reflection of his unwillingness to spend money. I’ve yelled into the abyss that you cannot go from a cap space team to a team in the tax unless you are re-signing your own players to big-money extensions. One look at the last decade of draft picks should tell you we’ve rarely resigned our picks to a second contract let alone a big-money extension. You can poo poo Cuban’s desire to use cap space to lure a star to Dallas but that is the reason we haven’t paid the tax, not because Cuban is cash poor and refuses to break out his wallet.
But for the sake of argument, let’s say that I’ve been wrong and Mavericks fans have been correct this entire time. Mark Cuban is tighter than a pair of work pants you purchased before the pandemic. Do you want to believe that all of a sudden, after refusing to spend for a decade, Cuban will suddenly spend tens of millions in luxury tax for a team that isn’t a title contender? It’s either been not true for the last decade or not true now. A couple of years down the line, once the repeater tax kicks in, every dollar spent will actually be four or five. Offering a marginally talented player $6 million with your taxpayer MLE? It’s going to cost $24-$30 million per year in actual cash to sign that player.
Only a handful of NBA owners can do that without blinking. Even the wealthiest owners have balked at the prospect of cutting the league a check for $80-100 million dollars and who could blame them. This current version of the Mavericks is not a title contender. The team’s payroll will reach a breaking point and the team will have to find ways to cut costs.
The Mavericks can trade Jalen Brunson down the line
A non-All-Star level player making $28 million dollars a year is not a trade asset. While any contract can theoretically be moved that doesn’t mean it can be moved for value. Kevin Hurter, Duncan Robinson, Terry Rozier, and our very own Tim Hardaway Jr. should be examples of what happens when you pay non-stars star-level money. All four players are useful and can help you win games. Their contracts, however, make them nearly impossible to move for value.
Assuming Brunson will be a huge trade chip is misguided. He was and will be paid like our second-best player. It’s hard, however, to find a contending team where Brunson could qualify as their second-best player. Either Los Angeles team? Denver? Milwaukee? Miami? Golden State? Boston? Brunson wouldn’t be the second-best player on any of those teams. That leaves the dregs of the league as a market for him. The Knicks have been the Knicks because they have paid out huge contracts to players that could never live up to them. Having Brunson on the books would make it harder to find a true number two.
There was a recent debate in the Mavericks community about whether they would be best served by pursuing a second star or adding depth. The Finals should have helped answer that question. The Celtics were a deeper team but star-level talent does more to decide playoff series than functional depth.
So, how can the Mavs acquire that second star. Picking in the 20s, its unlikely we ever draft that type of player. Trade, maybe? Unlikely, since they lack trade assets. I am the old man yells at crowd meme every time I have to remind someone that the Mavericks players are simply not coveted by other teams. Does anyone think we could get back a positive asset for Hardaway? The answer should be no. A player’s value to Dallas does not equate to his value around the league.
The truth hurts. The cold truth is that the Mavericks screwed up the Jalen Brunson situation. I believed the Mavs would be best served by trading Brunson before the deadline. But no one wants to hear that the team should take a step back in order to take two steps forward. Winning games in the short-term is fun and long-term thinking as it relates to team building simply isn’t.
What should Dallas do then? Let’s talk about that soon, because by the end of the week it won’t matter anyway. But it’s not as straightforward of a decision as many feel it is.
The Dallas Mavericks are acquiring center/power forward Christian Wood from the Houston Rockets in exchange for the No. 26 pick in the 2022 NBA draft and four players with expiring contracts, sources told ESPN.
Dallas will send Boban Marjanovic, Marquese Chriss, Trey Burke and Sterling Brown to Houston, sources said, creating roster flexibility and adding a productive big man.
Sources said Houston was motivated to move Wood because the Rockets want to open up playing time for 2021 first-rounder Alperen Sengun and likely the No. 3 overall pick. The Rockets pounced on the opportunity to acquire a first-round selection without taking on any long-term salary.
Wood, 26, averaged 19.1 points and 9.9 rebounds during his two seasons with the Rockets. He is due to make $14.3 million for the 2022-23 season, the final year of his contract.
Upgrading at center was one of the Mavs’ primary goals entering the offseason in the wake of their run to the Western Conference finals.
The Rockets now have the Nos. 3, 17 and 26 picks in the June 23 draft.
