Mavs Donuts: Dirk Nowitzki Evaluates Luka Doncic & Dallas Roster - 'A Good Crew'
Dallas Mavericks Media Day is here, which means it's time to "meet the Mavs.'' ... which DallasBasketball.com will do, with The 75-Member Staff in the building.
But ...
DONUT 1: DIRK DONUTS ...
We can fortify our understanding of the roster with help from a certain front-office big shot named Dirk Nowitzki (with a hat-tip to Mavs.com) ...
DONUT 2: DIRK ON LUKA DONCIC
“Obviously, Luka is going to be Luka. He’s going to initiate, obviously, most of the stuff.'' (More: Doncic on the importance of winning an MVP.)
DONUT 3: DIRK ON COACH JASON KIDD
“J-Kidd is going to have the boys ready. I really like what he built last year, the principles he put on both ends of the floor.'' (More: Kidd on a Lakers-like vision for this year's Mavs.)
DONUT 4: DIRK ON LOSING JALEN BRUNSON
“Losing Brunson is always tough. He was a huge part in what we were doing the last few years. He’s a great combo guard. We wish him luck. He really deserves that contract, but both sides had to move on.”
DONUT 5: DIRK ON SPENCER DINWIDDIE REPLACING BRUNSON?
“I think with Spencer having a tremendous year when he came last year, I think we’re going to make up for that loss (of Brunson) by guys stepping in and hopefully having a good season.”
DONUT 6: DIRK ON TIM HARDAWAY REPLACING BRUNSON?
“I think we have some guys who can step in, and that’s always important to have shooting and playmaking at the 2-guard spot. Hardaway missed basically half of the season last year, so him coming back and being fully healthy is exciting.
DONUT 7: DIRK ON THE 7-0 JAVALE MCGEE REUNION
“He’s grown a lot (as a person/player). He’s going to be a great rim presence for Luka on both ends — another roller.” (More: McGee a "championship'' projected starter?)
DONUT 8: DIRK ON NEWCOMER CHRISTIAN WOOD
“We’ve got some length, and I think Wood (6-10) is going to fit in great. What I like about Wood is he can do a little bit of both. He can pick-and-pop, he can roll, and he can make some plays in the middle.'' (More: How important is Wood's offense to Dallas' hopes?)
DONUT 9: DIRK ON RIM PROTECTION
“Obviously, the game is going smaller and smaller and everybody is switching. But you still need to have somebody in the paint to protect at times.
DONUT 10: DIRK ON LUKA'S TENNIS ABILITY
“He thinks he’s better than he really is.”
Luka’s response: “You never play me 1-on-1.” (More: DBcom at Dirk's Charity Tennis event.)
DONUT 11: DIRK ON COACH KIDD FUN
“I think you can tell the guys have fun playing and competing for him. So hopefully we can continue that and build on that and hopefully it’ll be another fun year.”
DONUT 12: THE FINAL WORD
“It was an unbelievable run last year and it was so much fun to watch. Hopefully we can build on that. I think we have a good crew.”
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