MFFLs are like fans of every other sports team. They want results and they want them now.
That’s not a problem. That’s a good thing. Passion is something that comes only when you’ve had a franchise that has experienced success and raised expectations.
Some NBA teams are like that, too. Houston, the LA Clippers and Lakers, Brooklyn. They have conducted business over the last month in such a way that they and their fans expect enormous results in the 2019-20 season.
Most of those teams will be disappointed with where things go.
It brings up the question about whether there is room in this age of sports, and specifically in the NBA, for teams that want to do things the old-fashioned way. That means building a team block by block and watching young players grow together.
As opposed to punching an analytics button, selling one’s soul to players and agents who want to combine forces and instantly become a super team.
And by the way, which one of those super teams has three healthy superstars on it right now? Lots of them have two. But not three, which Miami, Cleveland and Golden State all had during their championship seasons.
So what does that mean for the Mavericks?
Clearly, the offseason wasn’t great. But when you look at the Mavericks’ roster now as compared to two seasons ago, it’s easy to see the improvement.
While Dennis Smith Jr. and Harrison Barnes were solid players, replacing them as your Nos. 1 and 2 with Luka Doncic and the newly re-signed Kristaps Porzingis is a massive upgrade.
Essentially, the Mavericks had their free-agent coup in February when they pulled the trigger on the deal for Porzingis.
Earlier this week, this is what proprietor Mark Cuban had to say about the Mavericks’ state of affairs in an interview with Eddie Johnson on SiriusXM Radio:
“I still think it’s wide-open. Utah got better. Denver is still good. But you got to be healthy. If our young guys continue to improve . . . Luka will be better and we’re adding KP.
“If we would have just signed KP as a restricted free agent from the Knicks this summer, everybody would have been talking about, ‘Oh you guys did great, you guys got one of the big names.’
“We did that during the season. And I think we got a lot of really good players that will get better. It’s still a team game.”
That much is true. But it’s also a fact that it’s a star-driven league and if you don’t have two of them, you are going to be fighting from behind. It can be done. Toronto had Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakim. That’s a legitimate superstar in Leonard and two fringe stars.
The Mavericks, assuming Porzingis comes back healthy from his knee injury, have two legitimate stars. Plus, Doncic is 20 and Porzingis will turn 24 on Aug. 2.
Player development will determine a lot about how much better this team is than the last three, all of which were well below .500. Improvement of players like Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber, Dorian Finney-Smith, Jalen Brunson and Justin Jackson will be interesting to watch.
The health of Tim Hardaway Jr. and J.J. Barea will be important. As will the load-managed minutes for Porzingis.
And, of course, somebody is going to have to step in and help everybody forget that a certain 7-foot German no longer is roaming the hallways, the locker room and the court at American Airlines Center.
The Mavericks also have Seth Curry and Boban Marjanovic coming on board.
That will fill out a deep, competitive roster.
Is it a playoff team? That’s a question that won’t be known for months. But to look at the roster, it’s clear that it’s new and improved – and with some continuity after the re-signings of all their younger players.
Twitter: @ESefko
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