03-01-2023, 08:14 AM
- From a part of Hollinger's article in the Athletic this morning
- Dallas made the conference finals last year, has a 24-year-old superstar, and yet … looks just as desperate as everyone else, especially in the wake of Sunday’s collapse against the Lakers and Jason Kidd’s weird press conference afterward.
The Mavs have a familiar litany of issues for a team on this list. They’re already in next year’s tax, out of future draft picks and trying to hit on a quasi-reckless gamble (Kyrie Irving) after painting themselves into a corner with bad contracts and the needless own goal of Jalen Brunson’s departure. The Mavs also got bonus desperation points for starting a buyout guy (Justin Holiday, who couldn’t get minutes in Atlanta even as the Hawks were desperate for reliable wing play).
Keep an eye on this situation. Between Irving’s wandering eye for L.A. this summer, the potential of Luka Dončić’s frustration boiling over and Kidd’s history of things ending badly when they end, this could get a lot worse before it gets better.