Mark Cuban Interview: Mavs Offseason Review & Season Preview
It’s been an interesting offseason for the Dallas Mavericks, who are coming off their first Western Conference Finals appearance since 2011. It started with Dallas acquiring versatile big man Christian Wood via trade from the Houston Rockets, and then drafting a promising young prospect in Jaden Hardy all in a week’s span.
The following week, Dallas unfortunately lost Jalen Brunson to the New York Knicks in free agency, but signed JaVale McGee to further bolster its depth down low.
On Friday, Mavs owner Mark Cuban took some time to speak with DallasBasketball.com about those offseason moves, some underrated players on the current roster, expectations for the upcoming season and much more.
After losing Brunson, the point production should still be there for the Mavs with the additions of Wood and McGee … But do you feel the team still needs another distributor off the bench with Spencer Dinwiddie likely joining Luka Doncic in the starting lineup? Or are there players on the current roster you could see developing into that role this season?
Cuban: “People forget we have Frank (Ntilikina), who will be better this year. We went into last season with Luka, JB and Frank and turned our season around more than a month before the trade deadline.
“And by adding back THJ (Tim Hardaway Jr.) and adding Christian (Wood), I don’t think scoring will be an issue for us.”
This is essentially the first winning situation Wood has been in throughout his NBA career. Do you think that will result in the Mavs getting the best version of him yet?
Cuban: “He has been incredible in workouts. We are really, really excited to see what he can do … I think his shot creation and shooting are far better than people realize. He will be really good defensively in our system because he is long and mobile.
“He will be great.”
McGee was the first Mavs signing announced when free agency started. Obviously you guys are already very familiar with him from his previous stint, but he’s a different, more accomplished player now. What are your expectations for McGee this season?
Cuban: “(For him) to be a defensive and rebounding presence. To give our guys the value of his playoff and championship experience.”
I’m sure you’ve been watching Luka Doncic dominate with the Slovenian national team this summer. Is it too early for the fan base to get excited about his new hook-shot he’s displayed a few times now?
Cuban: “It’s never too early to be excited about Luka!”
As far as Doncic’s conditioning goes, he looks fantastic this summer. Given how the last two seasons have started (Mavs have been under .500 at the 25-game mark in each of the last 2 years), do you think Luka has approached this offseason with a chip on his shoulder?
Cuban: “You have to ask him that. I haven’t talked to him about his workouts. But he sure looks good!”
Jurij Kodrun/Getty Images
Jason Kidd was great in his first season as head coach of the Mavs. Now that the Mavs have made it to within three games of reaching the NBA Finals, expectations are higher than they were last year. Do you think we’ll see some new gameplan wrinkles this season given that the team has gotten bigger?
Cuban: “I think it will be more guys getting better at running our offensive and defensive principles.”
One year into his new gig, it appears that Nico Harrison has already gotten the hang of this GM stuff while building trust with his NBA executive peers. Is this as smooth of a front office transition as you could’ve hoped for?
Cuban: “To paraphrase Stuart Scott, smooth as the underside of your pillow.”
I mentioned the WCF and higher expectations above. It’s always easier to outperform lower expectations than it is to live up to or exceed higher ones. Is there any worry that there could be a WCF hangover from heading into this season like what we saw from the Atlanta Hawks last season?
Cuban: “No … We are excited to see what happens!”
EuroBasket 2022 is coming up on Sept. 1 and will go through Sept. 18. If Luka/Slovenia goes all the way, is there any concern with him being fatigued with training camp starting soon after that?
Cuban: “He is 23.”
Editor’s note: We’ll take that one as being a pretty obvious “no.”
Finally, is there a particular player on the Mavs’ current roster who you feel is being underrated or not talked about enough heading into this season?
Cuban: “I think Christian (Wood) and Frank (Ntilikina) both. In particular, what Frank did defensively (in the postseason) while being sick and banged up was insane.”
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