DALLAS — For the first time in 21 years, the Mavericks have to find a Plan B.
Dirk Nowitzki has a namesake street, an immortal legacy and a future Hall of Fame bust. But he no longer has the basketball.
“I walked into the locker room on Media Day and for the first time since 1998 his nameplate wasn’t there,” says Mavericks long-time general manager Donnie Nelson. “It was a shock to the system.”
The waiting is over for Nelson and the Mavs to wonder what life without No. 41 will be like, because they tip off the 2020 season Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards at American Airlines Center.
It’s Luka Doncic. It’s Kristaps Porzingis. It’s … J.J. Barea and a bunch of other role players you will be excused for not knowing. But Nelson, as has been the case for most of his 20 years in the front office, believes his team has the adequate pieces. Playoff pieces.
“It’s a new beginning for sure,” Nelson told us Tuesday on our Press Box DFW Live! vodcast. “I feel good about it. Almost like I did 20 years ago when we started out with a Canadian (Steve Nash) and a German (Nowitzki).”
Dirk, of course, delivered the Mavs’ lone championship with a remarkable playoff run in 2011. But the last eight, empty years have felt more like 80.
Since lifting the trophy in Miami, the Mavericks have missed the playoffs four times, including the last three. They are 5-16 in playoff games, and haven’t won a single series. They are a cumulative 24 games under .500, including 16-34-16 the last three seasons.
“We’ve got to go out and make the playoffs,” Nelson says. “Our fans deserve it.”
After a dizzying offseason of injuries and intrigue, there is no clear-cut NBA favorite. The defending champion Raptors lost Kawhi Leonard. The Warriors’ dynasty is kaput, harpooned by the departure of Kevin Durant and the injury to Klay Thompson. In the West, the Lakers added Anthony Davis and Danny Green to LeBron James, the Rockets now pair James Harden with Russell Westbrook and the Clippers boast Leonard and Paul George.
“The West is as thick as it’s ever been,” says Nelson. “There are three teams from California and a couple from Texas that could win the whole thing.”
In the annual survey of NBA GMs, head coach Rick Carlisle was voted “best in-game adjustment coach” and Doncic finished second – behind only reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo – as “player to build a franchise around.” But the Mavericks need another piece – a rugged interior enforcer, likely – before they join the championship contender conversation. Las Vegas oddsmakers established their win total at 42, which would be a huge improvement from last year’s 33 and would likely thrust them into contention for the eighth spot in the West.
To do that, the role players must be almost flawless. Dwight Powell as an athletic forward. Seth Curry as a long-distance shooter. Delon Wright as a lanky, defensive guard; Barea his energetic, savvy backup. And, yes, the 7-foot-3 jovial giant Boban Marjanovic as comic and tangible relief.
“We had to pull him off the set in Hollywood where he was making a movie with Johnny Depp,” Nelson joked of the backup center. “But he’s got soft hands, he’s a shot-maker, a good passer and a nice center bullpen. He’s an enforcer. With all of our tall, lanky guys it’s good to have some meat in the middle.”
The Mavs’ success, of course, won’t be reliant upon backups but rather their 21st Century Nash-Nowitzki duo, better known as Luka and “Kris.”
Doncic, 20, was Rookie of the Year with an elite basketball IQ and desire to take – and make – the game’s biggest baskets using a variety of shots. Porzingis, 24. is the 7-foot-3 All-Star with the Knicks who hasn’t played in 20 months after a knee injury, but when last seen could shoot the 3-pointer, score off the dribble, protect the rim and force Nelson to do mental cartwheels over his potential.
“In the pick-and-roll,” he says, “they’re going to wreak havoc on the league.”
The Mavs expected the same in 1998 from Nash and Nowitzki. They were good together, but never led Dallas past the Western Conference Finals. Apart, they won three MVPs and a championship.
Crank up the hype, Nelson says Luka-Porzingis could be even better.
“Back in the day we were excited about Steve and Dirk, but they were both unproven,” the GM says. “The difference with these two is that Luka has done it at a high level since he was 14 and Kris was an All-Star in New York. They’re going to be great together, and they won’t need as long of a gestation period. On paper it looks great. Now we’ve got to turn that into victories.”
And for the first time in a long time, they’ve got to do it all without Dirk.
