Centers, Hardy among our burning questions ahead of training camp

OK, so the Mavericks are having the first four days of training camp in Las Vegas.

Anybody else see what they did there?

Remember last fall when they opened the preseason halfway around the world in Abu Dhabi against Minnesota? That trip, which also included a stop in Spain for a second preseason game against the Timberwolves, gave the Mavericks more than a week to get cozy with one another, build camaraderie, have dinners together and basically create a feeling of family.

Maybe it’s not coincidence that the Mavericks and Wolves were the last two teams standing in the Western Conference.

So this year, with no league-mandated trip to start the growth and chemistry processes, the Mavericks took matters into their own hands and elected to train in Las Vegas from Oct. 1-4.

It’ll be here before you know it.

And with the new majority owner of the team being based in Las Vegas, it’s a sensible choice to give the team a few days to concentrate on nothing but basketball and each other.

It’ll be a chance for a great work trip, unlike most of the rest of us when we go to Vegas to get away from work and everything else stressful.

With that in mind, we’ll get everybody thinking about the upcoming season a little early this year. While the Cowboys might just be kicking off, tipoff of the preseason will come in barely a month.

So we’ve got burning questions. And unlike last year at this time, none of them involve whether Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving can function together.

That one no longer is up for debate.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t questions. So here’s four of them to get you thinking about what the Mavericks must answer early in the season as they begin the journey to get back to the NBA Finals for a second season in a row and, with a little luck, complete the mission this time.

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What will happen at the center position?

After trading for Daniel Gafford in February, the Mavericks had a really efficient two-headed monster in the middle with Gafford and rookie Dereck Lively II. But that setup might not be in the best interest of the long-term growth of Lively, who clearly has “wow” factor on his side at the tender age of 20. This is not to diminish what Gafford gave the Mavericks – and what he will be asked to do this season. Without him, the Mavericks wouldn’t have gone where they did. Is there room for both centers? Plus Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell? Not in the regular rotation. But Lively and Gafford both figure to be more than 20-minute players, although whether one of them asserts themselves enough to be the clear No. 1 remains to be seen. This is one of those times when you have to trust Jason Kidd’s skills of managing players. He’ll figure it out.

What’s the key to Klay Thompson fitting in offensively?

The easy answer is: duh. You put Thompson on the three-point arc, wait for the defense to get sucked in by Dončić or Irving, feed him the ball and head back downcourt as the ball splashes through the net. But it’s never as easy as it sounds. But the most appealing part of Thompson joining the Luka-Kyrie pairing is that now Kidd has the luxury of keeping two of the three heavy lifters on the floor at all times, if he wants to approach it that way. And it also gives the Mavericks a buffer for any nagging injuries that might crop up. What’s going to be fun is when Thompson can simply be a decoy on the perimeter, with a defender draped on him 25 feet from the basket. And Luka slithering into paint and picking apart those unfortunate defenders left in the paint.

Will Jaden Hardy break loose this season?

The future of the third-year guard is cloudier than Yoda trying to figure out young Anakin Skywalker. Hardy has gotten occasional chances in his first two seasons and he’s been productive more often than he has disappointed. But his minutes per game, points per game and three-point percentage all declined in his second season, although he did play in 73 games (seven starts). There’s probably a reason why the Mavericks still have Hardy and not Josh Green. Those are two players that are young and have upside. Green was jettisoned to facilitate the Klay Thompson acquisition. Hardy remains. This is the final season on his original three-year contract and it’s probably time to fish or cut bait. But with the Mavericks having championship dreams this season, finding time for somebody still developing his skills might not be easy.

How do Spencer Dinwiddie, Naji Marhall, P.J. Washington, Quentin Grimes, O-Max Prosper and Dante Exum divvy up precious few minutes at power forward and the backup spots behind Thompson, Dončić and Irving?

With the exception of Prosper, these are all proven NBA players. They have all had large roles and are all at different points in their career. This is what is known as competition and it should make for a spirited training camp and preseason. Washington goes into the season in the starting lineup, for sure. But this is a more talented and deeper group than Kidd has ever had as Mavericks’ coach. This is when you feel really good that it’s an 82-game season because everybody will get their opportunities over the course of the six-month grind. Will there be rocky stretches for each player? Of course. That’s part of the NBA. But having more quality athletes makes any coach’s job a little less stressful.

X: @ESefko