Arguably nobody outside of the Mavericks’ organization knows the ins and outs of the Mavs better than Mark Followill and Chuck Cooperstein.
Followill is entering his 25th season as the play-by-play voice of the Mavs, including the past 19 years on the team’s television broadcast following six seasons as the play-by-play voice on the radio broadcast. Cooperstein, meanwhile, is entering his 19th season as the play-by-play voice on the radio broadcast of Mavs’ games.
So when Followill and Cooperstein stand up and give their strong opinions on the state of the Mavs, their voice carries a lot of weight.
When asked about the offseason acquisitions of Grant Williams, Seth Curry, Richaun Holmes, Dante Exum, Derrick Jones Jr., and rookies Dereck Lively II, Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Mike Miles Jr. – not to mention re-signing eight-time All-Star guard Kyrie Irving – Followill and Cooperstein get as enthusiastic as a bunch of kids on Christmas morning.
“I’m really excited about this season,” Followill said. “The most important piece, of course, was to re-sign Kyrie, and they got that done. That’s a cornerstone piece that you needed to have to move forward in your offseason, and that set the table for being able to have the room to get Grant Williams in here, which I think that’s a great deal and I think he’s going to be a great fit on the floor and off the floor along with what they did on draft night.
“They turned essentially one asset – the 10th pick in the draft – into three different things by the time the night was over with in the trade they were able to do with Oklahoma City and Sacramento. I’ve always liked (Holmes). I think there’s a shot that he can come in here and get back to the player that he was three-four seasons ago, so I’m excited about that, too.”
Cooperstein also is very high on Williams and Holmes.
“Grant William is going to help them tremendously,” Cooperstein said. “Grant Williams is (former Mavs forward) Jae Crowder with a jump shot. The Mavericks already took the most corner threes in the league last year – and they made more than anybody else – so it just makes them that much more difficult to defend, and Grant is going to defend people. It doesn’t matter who he’s guarding. Whether it’s a (shooting guard) or a (center). He’s going to stick his nose in there and make something happen.
“As for Holmes, we’ve see
n Holmes be really good. Circumstances changed for him in Sacramento both on the court and off the court and stuff that he had to deal with. Now that he’s pretty much taken care of all of that, I’m sure he looks at this as a fresh start, and I’m really curious to see him play.”
Followill took it a step further in his explanation of how Williams – he spent his first four seasons with the Boston Celtics before joining the Mavs — will be able to prosper alongside All-Star guards Luka Doncic and Irving.
“I looked at some of the numbers of how he played when he was on the floor with (Celtics’ All-Stars) Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and I think he’s just a very good complementary player to good players,” Followill said. “You need guys that play well off of players like Luka and Kyrie, and Grant Williams’ track record says to me — based on things that I’ve looked at — that he plays off of good players very well, and I think he’ll get a chance to have an expanded role relatively to what he had in Boston.
“So, between three-point shooting, defense, locker room chemistry, culture guy, he’s going to be great in terms of interaction with MFFLs — not that that’s something that necessarily wins you basketball games. But that’s a really positive thing, too, so I think in every way possible that’s a really, really positive acquisition on and off the floor for the Mavs. I love it.”
In the meantime, Cooperstein loves what Lively brings to the court. Especially his ability to rebound, block shots and protect the rim.
“He’s legitimately 7-1 with legitimately a 7-7 wingspan,” Cooperstein said. “He’s going to ultimately cause havoc. He’s got to learn how to play in the NBA and learn how to play without fouling, which we know for bigs is easier said than done. I can’t wait to see his development.
“I know that (Mavs coach) Jason (Kidd) is really going to hope that he picks things up quickly so that he can actually play him. That’s because I just have to believe — without being in the team meeting the night before training camp starts — that he’s going to basically lay down the law and say, ‘Fellas, we’re playing defense this year. And if you don’t play defense, you’re not going to play.’ Lively, if he’s able to figure out the NBA game and be able to keep himself on the floor for a little bit of time, he’s going to help them in that regard.”
Followill likes the fact that former Mavs center Tyson Chandler is already comparing Lively to himself.
“It took Tyson a while in his career, of course, to become the Tyson Chandler that we all know and love, and it’s going to take Dereck Lively some time,” Followill said. “But he’s probably going to get some opportunities this year. I do think it’s always a good thing to manage expectations with rookie players, because it’s just a very big adjustment from one year in the college game to playing in the NBA.
“But the future to me is very bright for Dereck Lively. Looking down the road, I see Dereck Lively as a big-time contributor and a big-time piece for the Mavericks. How it’s all going to play out this year, I wouldn’t want to put too many expectations on him. But I do think there’ll be some opportunities that will come his way and he certainly has the kind of work ethic and approach to the game, and I think he’s going to have himself as ready as you could hope a rookie would be.”
Followill also is thrilled that guard Seth Curry is back for his third tenure with the Mavs. Particularly since he’s one of the most prolific three-point shooters in the history of the NBA.
“Seth Curry comes here and always produces, and I have no doubt that that’s going to happen again,” Followill said. “You’re talking about someone who will thrive in a system where he’s playing off great ballhandlers (in Doncic and Irving), and he can also break down the defense and create open shots for other people. He’s not limited to doing things that are just catching and shooting.
“I’ve always liked him as a person when he’s been here, and loved what he’s been able to do as a player in his time here. I’m glad he’s found his way back here again and I hope it’s going to be for longer than a season this go-round.”
Josh Green and Exum were teammates on Australia’s World Cup team earlier this summer, and both players were able to expand their games. Cooperstein and Followill are confident that will continue this season.
“I’m curious to see both Josh Green and Dante Exum coming off the summer that both of them had,” Cooperstein said. “Both of them played well in the World Cup. I’m really impressed, much more so than I thought I would be, with Exum, because he’s long and he can guard and now he has figu
red out how to shoot.
“It seems like going over to Europe for the last two years has really gotten his game straightened out, and we’ll see how much the Mavericks ultimately use him.”
Followill is anxious to see how much the Mavs use guard Jaden Hardy following his breakout rookie year last season when he averaged 8.8 points in only 14.8 minutes per game.
“I think if you had asked me going into (last season) I would have felt like he was going to be spending most if not all of the year playing in the G League and getting ready to carve out a rotation role this year,” Followill said. “Obviously, he’s accelerated his timeline based on how he played in the second half of the season.
“To have a guy who can come in off the bench and give you instant offense is a very, very valuable role in this league. I think he’s poised to be able to take that step to be able to be a microwave guy, an instant offense guy off the bench. I think he also was someone who fits well next to Luka and Kyrie, and he showed last year that he’s not going to be afraid of the moment. I love the swagger and the confidence that Jaden Hardy plays with, and I’m looking forward to the next step for him.”
Both Cooperstein and Followill are also looking forward to the next step in seeing Doncic and Irving playing together for a full season after Irving was acquired last Feb. 6 in a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets.
“He and Luka will get a chance to have practices together with a coaching staff that, by the way, has gotten some new additions as well,” Followill said. “I don’t know how much of the pre-season each guy is going to play in terms of games and minutes and things like that, but they’re going to have the opportunity for that, so to me it’s like I don’t see how it does anything but help.
“And of course, you’ve got to get to the real games where defenses are keyed in and there’s the pressure of trying to get results and make a shot down the stretch and make plays down the stretch of the game before we fully know the answer to it. But to me I don’t see how it can’t do anything but a positive that they’ll have an entire training camp to work together and continue the process of building chemistry and meshing together as a backcourt.”
Cooperstein said he believes Irving will be treated better with the Mavs than he was during his previous stops in Cleveland, Boston and Brooklyn.
“The Mavericks are not treated the same way that those other situations are,” Cooperstein said. “I think it’s going to be a lot more low-key here and I think it’s really going to pay off for him.
“I think he’s really going to be happy here, and that doesn’t even account for the fact that Jason Kidd is his hero. Jason Kidd literally is his hero. He does not want to see his hero fail. I think he’s in for a huge year this year.”
Followill and Cooperstein were each adamant in saying the Mavs will perform much, much better this season than last season when they missed both the playoffs and the play-in tournament. And they credit their assessment to the very positive offseason Mavs management pieced together.
“To me, it’s like they got a lot of things done and they had a lot of heavy lifting to do,” Followill said. “They weren’t able to do everything, I’m sure, that they wanted to do.
“But I thought that they were able to get a lot done in terms of, No. 1, re-signing Kyrie and being able to add good complementary pieces around him and Luka. And then also being able to add young players around them, too, with what they did on draft night. So, it was, from my perspective, a really positive offseason.”
X: @DwainPrice
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