Just a couple of seasons removed from making the NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks feel farther away from winning a championship than ever before. This is certainly tough for Head Coach Jason Kidd, who expected to win multiple championships with Luka Dončić. But after his trade, a full rebuild is expected. With the Mavericks on a 10-game losing streak, Kidd was asked if the team was ready to shut it down for the rest of the season.
Jason Kidd Addresses Whether Mavericks Will Start Tanking
Kidd discussed the topic of tanking, saying, “That word ‘tanking’ is sometimes misused. Sometimes teams aren’t trying to tank. They just don’t have enough firepower to win. A serious injury to a star player can pivot a franchise, and that happens, but I think we’re in good hands with the league.”
Kidd added, “They’ll come up with some new rule to try to stay away from that word ‘tanking’. When we talk about tanking, there’s only a few. Hopefully that doesn’t ruin the batch for the others that are trying to play.”
Kidd’s comments suggest he’ll keep trying to win with what he has in the season’s final weeks. At 19-36, the Mavericks are currently seven games back of the final spot in the Western Conference Play-In Tournament. Ideally, the rest of the season would be devoted to first overall pick Cooper Flagg continuing to build his case for Rookie of the Year.
After a rough start to his career, Flagg is showcasing his potential. He’s currently averaging 20.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game, while shooting 48.2% from the field. He’s averaged over 20 points per game in December, January, and February.
However, Flagg is currently sidelined with a left mid-foot sprain. The organization won’t rush him back, but they’d surely like to see him continue to build momentum and finish the season strong.
Any talks of tanking center on the Mavericks’ veteran players. Four-time NBA champion and five-time All-Star Klay Thompson has been in and out of the lineup while battling through arguably the worst season of his career. He has one year left on his contract, and the Mavericks will likely help him find a new home this summer.
Veteran forward P.J. Washington is another guy who could see reduced playing time in the regular season’s final weeks. Washington noticeably declined as a three-point shooter this season and has a four-year extension that starts next season. Perhaps the Mavericks will gauge interest in that contract around the league this summer.
Then there’s the future of nine-time All-Star Kyrie Irving. Irving will miss the entire season while recovering from knee surgery, and the organization reportedly wants to see how he looks next to Flagg. Will Irving be interested or fully engaged to play in a rebuilding situation at this stage of his career?
The Mavericks have some tough questions in the off-season, but Kidd is still focused on winning games.
