As a rule, I don’t like to alarm anyone unless I’m absolutely sure we’re out of pimento cheese, but here we are at the All-Star break, and already nearly a third of the NBA’s franchises are locked in a death spiral.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining that it’s a bad look for the league. Of course it is. But let someone else come up with a remedy for tanking.
And wait until next year, when the Mavs won’t have a dog in the hunt.
They need to channel their inner dog this year.
Mavericks
That’s dog, not dawg.
The problem isn’t that so many bad teams aren’t even trying to remain competitive; it’s that too many sit between the Mavs and a shot at Cooper Flagg’s fraternal twin.
And I don’t mean Ace, either.
The Mavs can’t count on the same luck they enjoyed last year when they won the lottery with only a 1.8% shot, inspiring Nico Harrison to crow, “Fortune favors the bold.”
Frankly, I’d have fired him just for having the nerve to say that.
As you may know by now, this is the last draft in which the Mavs have control of their first-round pick until 2031, and while that’s the bad news, the good news is this is a great year to be awful.
NBA types characterize this draft — a deep one topped by Kansas’ Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa of BYU — as “generational,” meaning even the Mavs couldn’t screw this up if they get close enough.
They sit seventh in the lottery line after a 124-104 loss to the Luka-less Lakers, their ninth in a row. Pretty bad, but they could do worse, and have. The last time they ran up a losing streak this long was 1997-98, when it grew to 15.
The prize at the end: Dirk Nowitzki.
Chances are they won’t be as fortunate this time, but it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t try. Once they come back from the All-Star break, they’ll have 28 games to see how much worse they can do, because the competition is heating up. Utah was already in full tank mode when Jaren Jackson Jr., whom the Jazz acquired at the deadline from Memphis, another tanker, went down for the season. Even before Jackson got hurt, Utah’s coach, Will Hardy, made no secret of the organization’s intentions. In the fourth quarter of a couple recent games, he benched Jackson as well as Lauri Markkanen, including one loss in which they blew a 17-point lead.
Asked this week how close he was to reinserting either of his stars, Hardy said, “I wasn’t.”
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Now, I don’t blame the Jazz in the least for their audacious pursuit of putrid. If they don’t finish in the bottom eight, they have to send their first-rounder to Oklahoma City.
Just what the best team in ball needs: another lottery pick.
Speaking of which, if you’d like an example of what back-to-back lottery bonanzas can do for you, check the Thunder, who won 22 games in the 2020-21 season and 24 the next.
Only three years later, they were world champs.
The Mavs wouldn’t necessarily find themselves on the same trajectory even if they land the top pick, but they’re closer than you might think. Flagg has already demonstrated he’s a legitimate cornerstone. Most of the supporting cast from the finals run two years ago remains intact. Might say it’s even better. I’ll take Naji Marshall and Max Christie over Derrick Jones Jr. and Tim Hardaway Jr. If Dereck Lively II can stay healthy, much of the interior defensive issues will disappear.
Besides hitting on the lottery ticket, the new general manager must decide what to do with Kyrie Irving: keep him or double down on the Anthony Davis trade by creating more cap space. All possibilities should be entertained, but, if it were me, I’d keep him. If they do this right, Kyrie could be the point guard on a contender in a couple years. It’d also be fun to see him and Flagg on the floor at the same time.
Just not at any point this season.
Keeping Kyrie on ice is the surest way to ensure the Mavs remain on track. Wouldn’t hurt to give Flagg, who’ll miss the All-Star festivities with a sprained left foot, a day off here or there, too. But, for the most part, he should play. He’s growing in confidence and stature by the game, and, after everything Mavs fans have been through in the last year, they deserve a glimpse of greatness.
Doesn’t mean Jason Kidd can’t make up for it otherwise. He gets points here for starting lineups without point guards lately. He could also make it a mission to get Klay Thompson third place on the all-time 3-point list.
Fire away, Klay.
I suppose you could say Kidd’s bosses did a little inside tanking by trading AD to the Wizards. First you’d have to assume Street Clothes no longer travels by ambulance. He won’t hurt the Wizards’ lottery odds, let’s just say that.
The Mavs should set their sights on the bottom five and roll with the odds. Besides the Jazz, Grizzlies and Wizards, their primary competition for the top pick includes the Hawks (by way of the Pelicans), Pacers and Nets. There’s no catching the Kings, who are so bad they don’t even have to try to be. Lost to the Jazz the other night by 28. Hardy could have rolled with four players and it probably wouldn’t have mattered, though Adam Silver might have had to revoke their hall pass or something.
The commissioner fined the Jazz $500,000 and the Wiz $100,000 for “conduct detrimental to the league,” like that’s going to scare anyone. Especially with a potentially historic draft looming. Until the league comes up with a legitimate deterrence to tanking, nothing will keep teams from breaking bad. If the concept makes you a little squeamish, I’d suggest you watch baseball this spring. Might be your last chance, at that.
Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN
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