SALT LAKE CITY – What the Mavericks did on Monday was put their money where their mouth is.
For the better part of two seasons, we’ve heard that everything they do with Luka Dončić as the face of franchise will be geared to one thing: winning a championship.
That’s what getting Kyrie Irving was all about.
“He’s won everywhere he’s gone,” coach Jason Kidd said of the new backcourt running mate for Dončić. “We feel like the talent and his abilities to make us better are something that we needed. We feel that getting him is going to help put us in a position to win a championship.
“To have two starters that are going to start in the All-Star Game for the Mavs is probably a first. It’s exciting. We have to be excited about this opportunity. It’s easy to look at all the talk of the negative. But let’s look at the positive and what he’s done on and off the court and that’s the way we’re approaching it.”
Irving and Markieff Morris will join the Mavericks Tuesday for a practice in Los Angeles. Assuming there are no holdups along the way, both will be available to play Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Dončić also will join the Mavericks in LA, but Kidd said he will not play Wednesday as he continues to recover from a right heel contusion.
Irving’s talent is undeniable. And sometimes, a view from afar can provide some interesting perspective.
That was the case when Utah coach Will Hardy was asked about what kind of impact the Mavericks’ trade for Irving might potentially have.
“Anytime an All-Star starter, joins the conference, that’s definitely daunting,” Hardy said. “He’s a great player. We just played him recently and he scored 40-something points here(48, to go with 11 rebounds and six assists in an 11-point Brooklyn win). So we know how hard he is to cover. He’s the real deal.
“I’m not sure exactly what it’s going to look like on the floor. That’s for Jason and his staff to figure out. But he’s a hell of a player. And when All-Stars change from one conference to another, you have to assume there’s going to be some type of shift in the power dynamic, a little bit, whether it’s one percent or 10, I don’t know what the percentage points will be. But, he’s pretty damn good.”
That’s why the Mavericks were drawn to the trade with the Nets as they sent Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie, along with future draft picks, to Brooklyn.
Finney-Smith, of course, was the Mavericks’ best defensive player and had been so for virtually all of his eight seasons in Dallas.
That will be hard to replace.
But the offensive machine the Mavericks hope to have might make up for some of that loss.
“We’re still going to preach defense, being able to get stops, but there are going to be nights when we’re going to try to make you feel uncomfortable on the offensive end,” Kidd said. “If we’re scoring 130 or 140, some nights you’re going to have to use the offense as your defense.
“But Ky’s going to compete on the defensive end. Luka’s going to compete on the defensive end. And for us, it’s about rebounding. That’s one of the areas we’ve struggled. But when you look at the offensive end, can we put pressure on the opponent and are they going to be comfortable trying to score that many points.”
The flip side is that the defense will be challenged without Finney-Smith.
Kidd said that the organization could not have been more appreciative of what Finney-Smith and Dinwiddie did for the Mavericks.
“Those two did a lot for the organization and we’re thankful,” he said. “The business of basketball sometimes gets in the way. But we want to thank those guys and wish those guys the best of luck.”
Said Christian Wood of losing Finney-Smith and Dinwiddie: “That’s huge. I know all about starting over.”
But, Wood said he was a fan of the trade.
“I like it,” he said before adding: “I hope I’m still here.”
Twitter: @ESefko
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