Jason Kidd Didn't Want Mavs to Sign Goran Dragic?
The Dallas Mavericks lost Jalen Brunson in free agency and have yet to make a substantial change to their guard depth chart ahead of training camp.
Goran Dragic, the mentor of Luka Doncic, was among the options the Mavericks could have signed in free agency, but they ultimately opted not to heavily pursue the option. Dragic signed with the Chicago Bulls instead.
The topic of what the Mavericks may do to address their need for another ball handler was a topic recently discussed on ESPN's "The Hoop Collective" podcast.
Tim MacMahon reported that his understanding of the situation was Mavs coach Jason Kidd being a key catalyst in the team not signing Dragic. Kidd doesn't believe Dragic "has any juice left."
"My understanding is that J-Kidd doesn't think Dragic has any juice left, so the Mavs basically asked him to be a foot shorter version of Boban and sit at the end of the bench all season," Tim MacMahon said. "He said hell no."
Further speculation was fueled by what the Mavs could potentially do to address their guard depth after a report from Marc Stein emerged regarding their consideration for using the 15th roster spot on a veteran guard.
Among the names mentioned by Stein included Dennis Schroder, Eric Bledsoe, Facundo Campazzo, Elfrid Payton, and Dennis Smith Jr. as options that are still available in free agency ahead of training camp.
The level of play from Schroder with Germany in EuroBasket 2022 has sparked a conversation about why he is still remaining in free agency.
On the previously referenced episode of "The Hoop Collective" podcast, Tim Bontemps strongly criticized the idea of the Mavericks passing on Dragic to sign Schroder.
"If these bozos sign Dennis Schroder and not Goran Dragic, who is Luka's idol, to be the backup point guard off the bench, that would be completely insane," Tim Bontemps said.
"I saw Dennis Schroder singlehandedly destroy the Boston Celtics season for half a season before he was jettisoned and then they became the greatest team of all time for 2 months," Bontemps explained.
It remains to be seen if the Mavericks will end up using their final roster spot to sign a guard. There has been various references about their plans to involve Frank Ntilikina as an important member of the team next season.
You can follow Grant Afseth on Twitter at @GrantAfseth.
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