Do 'New-Look' Mavs Have Brighter Future Than Giannis' Bucks?
As soon as the NBA's preseason schedule was released, the jokes started coming in about how there could be some tampering going on when Luka Doncic's Dallas Mavericks got together with Giannis Antetokounmpo's Milwaukee Bucks two times in three days, a little more than a week before the Greek Freak's deadline to sign his supermax extension. Although the 'tampering' part may be a joke, that doesn't mean Antetokounmpo himself can't assess a team's situation from up-close point of view.
READ MORE: Luka Named Top-5 Player in ESPN Rankings
The Mavs downed the Bucks, 112-102, in a preseason game that mostly meant nothing, other than shaking off some rust and getting a look at some of the newcomers.
However, after watching that game from start to finish, it was pretty obvious that Dallas was the team having the most fun, from the starting unit to the third-stringers.
The Mavs revamped their roster this offseason with a handful of new versatile wings, including Josh Richardson, James Johnson, Josh Green, Wes Iwundu, Tyler Bey and Nate Hinton, to compliment the rest of the roster. The result seems to be that Dallas will now have a deeper team than they've had in nearly a decade... with still a lot of room to grow, too.
READ MORE: 'Jumping In': Dallas Mavs 112, Milwaukee Bucks 102 In Preseason Opener
If Antetokounmpo truly doesn't care about playing in a big market, as has been reported, and he just wants the best chance to win championships, the Mavs continue to look like a fit for him, especially if they take the next step this season like many people believe they will. From the front office, to the coaching staff, to the young roster with high potential, Antetokounmpo could potentially 'have his cake and eat it, too', so to speak.
We're a good ways off from the Mavs getting their opportunity to pitch such a future to Antetokounmpo, but for now, they'll settle for showing him on his own home floor how bright things are looking in Dallas.
On this weekend edition of the Mavs Step Back Podcast, Dalton Trigg is joined by Mavs Moneyball's Editor-in-Chief Kirk Henderson to discuss the Mavs' win over the Bucks, including how the rookies looked, Josh Richardson's promising debut, Luka Doncic's seemingly improved three-point shot, why Willie Cauley-Stein should start in place of Dwight Powell, as well as all the good Giannis stuff mentioned above.
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