At the February trade deadline the Dallas Mavericks were in sixth place and just traded for Kyrie Irving, the best offensive player Luka Dončić has played with in his NBA career. Since then the Mavericks have gone 8-16 and are a game out of the last play-in spot in the West. It has gotten ugly, and fans want to assign blame.
Is Dončić To Blame?
If you listen to ESPN talking head Kendrick Perkins, he believes it’s time some criticism gets directed at franchise superstar Luka Dončić.
“When I watch Luka [Dončić], I get so disturbed by his body language not only towards the officiating but towards his [Mavs] teammates. The pouting, the hanging of the head, going to the media… when are you gonna be accountable?”
On its face that’s not a bad take by Perkins. Dončić has been in a sullen mood of late, leaving many to question how much longer he will remain in Dallas. He’s signed to a five-year, $215 million extension that has him locked up through the 2025-26 season. But when has that ever stopped a superstar from demanding a trade?
But back to Dončić’s sullenness.
He’s been hanging his head, pouting and looking dejected at various moments on the court and after the game. He notoriously complains to officials for lack of foul calls often causing his team to be down a man on defense on the other end of the court.
“I thought we were going to be up there,” he told reporters after last Saturday’s loss to the Miami Heat. “But we obviously aren’t, so it’s way different than I thought. It’s every time the same problem. The offense is fine. But if we give up 130 points in four quarters, that’s hard to win.”
Plenty Of Blame To Go Around
Dončić is not wrong about the team’s defense. But as mentioned that’s partly his fault. Also, the team traded their best defender in Dorian Finney-Smith to acquire Irving. Did they think that would improve their defense?
Head coach Jason Kidd has to get a share of the blame too for the Mavericks’ abysmal play down the stretch. It is his job to lead, inspire and come up with plays to take advantage of what his team does well on both ends of the court. That’s literally the job.
He’s failing in that regard.
We know how the NBA works. It’s much easier to get a head coach than it is to get a player the caliber of Dončić. It’s unlikely Kidd makes it past this season.
But what then?
Mavericks governor Mark Cuban is largely seen as this super smart forward-thinking “genius.” A closer examination of his tenure as governor reveals a lot of smoke and mirrors.
In the 23 seasons he’s been at the helm they’ve made the playoffs 19 times, including two trip to the Finals and a title. That was mostly due to how incredible Dirk Nowitzki was during the bulk of those years. He is top 30 all-time in WS/48, well ahead of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.
Nowitzki managed to somehow stay loyal to Cuban and Dallas despite them not maximizing his peak years. Will Dončić have the same loyalty?
If the Mavericks miss the play-in and fire Kidd, Cuban will be out of excuses. Time to look in the mirror and accept the part he’s played in this failure.
