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Podcast Host
Hello and welcome to the NBA Daily where we are doing NBA season previews and today we're talking Dallas baby. And I got Christian Clark, who covers them for the athletic in to talk to me about what's going on with the Mavericks and prepare us for this very interesting season. Right? Lots of excitement, Christian, lots of uncertainties around this team about what they're going to look like this year. Talk to me a little bit about the offseason. We know everything was around this monumental trade last year. Luka Doncic leaves Dallas, goes to la. Feels like we've had a little bit of time to get used to that. Obviously second half of the season comes about, we get through draft, Cooper Flag goes exactly where we thought he was going to go and performs really well in summer league. But there's been a lot more that's going on on around the Dallas Mavericks. So what happened this offseason? Summarize it for us.
Christian Clark
Yeah, I mean as everybody knows, February through April could not have been worse for the Dallas Mavericks. You know, they make this crazy trade, Kyrie Irving, you know, blows out his knee, they kind of limp into the play in tournament, are eliminated and then, you know, really since then things have been pretty good for them. You know, 1.8, 1.8% chance of getting the number one pick which they used to select Cooper flag. Kyrie Irving. It, you know, takes a little bit less money that allows them to get the d' Angelo Russell on mid level exception there. They've, they've signed Daniel Gafford and P.J. washington to extensions. I think they're, they're talented, they're deep. I don't know how well all the pieces fit together, but they, they're certainly an interesting team.
Podcast Host
Right. I think this is why everyone's like, the Mavs might be sneaky good this year. I think there's still a little bit of question around what does their ball handling look like? What does their perimeter defense look like? But of course, PJ Washington is one of the big names when it comes to that defensive identity as someone that could be a very big factor for them. But my question when I think about PJ Washington is, does he still start? When you consider some of the pieces that are available, and it leads to the question of which player is going to be the most impactful this season for the Mavs. And of course, we think about Cooper Flag, we think about potentially PJ Washington coming off the bench. I want to go ahead and start with that question of the starters first and then we could talk about who's going to be impactful. Who do you think is going to be starting for this team? Christian?
Christian Clark
I'm looking at it like there are four locks. I think d' Angelo Russell, just that stop gap, a point guard until Kyrie is back.
Podcast Host
Right.
Christian Clark
I think Cooper Flag, the number one pick, he's got to start. I mean, you don't, you don't take Cooper Flag and put him on the bench. Anthony Davis is going to start a power forward and then it's going to be one of livelier. Gafford, I would say lively, but it really could be either one. Both started one, either are healthy, and that kind of leaves one spot for P.J. washington or Klay Thompson. You know, if it was up to me, I'm looking at, I'm like, I just don't think there's enough shooting here. Like, I feel like I need Klay Thompson in there.
Podcast Host
Right.
Christian Clark
But I do think there's a world where it's possible they. They start BJ Washington and just go with this huge lineup where it's, you know, effectively Cooper Flag at like the two, and it's dlo Flag, PJ AD and, and Lively. I mean, that's like a monster size. I think that's within the realm of possibility. But if it's up to me, I'm just like, there's just not enough shooting. We gotta go with Clay.
Podcast Host
And also, oh, I'm thinking about Klay Thompson. Max Christie came over as well in that trade from the Lakers and had a pretty good end of the season for himself. Was being able to find some, some repetition within his game. When you're thinking about the players that are coming in to this season, a little bit on the younger side, of course, Cooper flag, Max Christie, Dante Exum is going to come back into the mix. He's on the older side, but still someone that's coming back into the mix who's going to make a big step forward, who's going to be super impactful if they elevate their game.
Christian Clark
Man. Yeah, Max Christie, he got off to a great start with the Mavs and then he really petered out, you know, a lot of that. He just didn't have people setting him up and we needed to be more creator. It didn't look great. I think d' Angelo Russell is going to have a better year than he did last year. I mean, I think he's going to be motivated. I mean, last year was horrible for him. You know, he gets bench early in the year, he kind of gets, you know, sent to Brooklyn and then people forget about him. It was an awful year for DLO and, you know, he's, you know, he's. This is kind of a prove it contract. And, you know, if this year goes well, like, I think that can, that can matter a lot for the next, like five years of d' Angelo Russell's career. So he's a guy where it's like, I think he's going to be better than he was last season, you know, look a little bit more like the guy he was two years ago with the Lakers when, you know, he made a ton of threes. Like the Mavs are going to need him to be that guy who's making like, you know, around 200 and threes.
Podcast Host
It's interesting that you went with D' Angelo Russell. I was not expecting that as a player that can make a biggest step forward, especially with someone that is a little bit older in age, that has had experience around the league, may not feel as if they have as much to prove in comparison to some of the younger players. But you're right in terms of the motivation, that immediately makes me think of someone else that's on this team in a very similar situation in terms of wanting to prove something. Anthony Davis. What's the expectation for him, especially alongside, you know, the stars that they got in a Cooper flag coming in from the draft?
Christian Clark
Yeah. I mean, Anthony Davis played nine games as a Dallas Maverick last year. I think that was hugely disappointing to everyone involved. And especially Anthony Davis. I mean, he probably. He probably shouldn't have tried to come back at the end of the year. You know, I mean, just watching him that play in tournament game in Memphis, it's like you're not close to 100%. You know, you're barely getting up and down the court. You know, I think a lot of that was. Was pride. You know, I think Nico stuck his neck out there for him. He wanted to. To try help Nico and, you know, I mean, I think he was getting, like, kind of dogged a little bit too. So he's like, look, I'm going to go out there and try. Yeah, you know, we got to see, you know, on media day, what is the state of his eye? You know, he. He had surgery for a detached retina. Obviously missed a lot of time with a strained adductor last year. So want is he going into the year healthy? And then I think the big question with AD is, you know, the Mavericks made this trade with the idea of playing him at power forward more so than center, and that was. That's been a big story throughout his career. The Pelicans always wanted to play the five. He says, no, I'm more comfortable power forward. The Lakers, they won the championship in 2020 with him primarily playing power forward next to Javale McGee and Dwight Howard. And then it's more five after that. You know, if you remember, even Jeanie Buss right before the trade kind of dinged him. Like, she was not happy that A.D. you know, went to ESPN and complained about, like, oh, we need to go and get a center. I mean, Genie Bus hated that, you know, so it's been a huge story throughout his career. He's getting what he wants in Dallas. I mean, the Mavericks have two true centers. So how is that going to look, you know, offensively, defensively? I think it's going to be awesome. Mavericks are going to have a ton of shot blocking interior protection, but how is that going to look offensively with AD Playing the majority of his minutes set before?
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Podcast Host
Well, what's interesting about that is that AD does like to take the ball off the rim and go. He likes to play that, that power forward point forward positioning. And I think that that's going to be really Dallas. I'm thinking also about the fact that they're going to need ball handling. Of course, d' Angelo Russell, as you mentioned, a stopgap until Kyrie Irving returns. Dante Exum definitely can help with that perspective as well. But what are your thoughts around, you know, a PJ Washington, a Naji Marshall, being able to have the ball in their hands a little bit more to set the floor for the, for Dallas.
Christian Clark
They're going to have to get creative. I mean the, the guy who effectively started a point guard for them last year in the playing tournament was Najee Marshall. You know, not, not exactly ideal. I guess. One thing I'll say here is the Mavericks have, and Jason Kidd specifically has talked about we want to put the ball in Cooper Flag sands, you know, these, he's really brought up this idea of, you know, point Cooper Flag. And you know, when he said it at Cooper Flag's introductory press conference, I was like, ah, I don't know, maybe they're making too much of this. And then at summer league they actually did it like yeah, Cooper Flag was bringing the ball up a ton of, you know, against pressure in the two game he played. So I think, I think that could be real. You know, Jason Kidd has kind of talked about, hey, that, that was what I did with Giannis early in his career and that helped him grow as a player. So I think there's a chance that that's pretty real. And we see Cooper Flag handling the ball a lot, even though he's what, six foot eight, six foot nine, big dude.
Podcast Host
But what from what you saw at summer league, and I would agree with you, I think Cooper Flag feels very comfortable in this. This is what we saw at Duke. He is a playmaker, he is a distributor, he has great floor vision in general. But what would you think that you prefer when you're thinking about the availability of shooting and you know, we, we Cooper Flag can shoot, it's not necessarily the number one thing that he can do, but would you prefer him going off the ball, flattening out while, you know, you have a d' Angelo Russell at the top trying to figure things out and setting the floor, Would you prefer him with the ball in his hands?
Christian Clark
I mean, I like if the goal is to win right now, I mean, I think Cooper Flagg is best, you know, sometimes handling the ball, but really being a guy who sets greens, who cuts, who gets a lot of his points, you know, that way, I mean, if I'm, if I'm like, can get one type of player next to Cooper Flag, if I'm just drafting one player that I think is going to compliment him the best, it's like a, a stud, you know, ball like lead ball handling guard, like Kyrie Irving, you know, Kyrie Irving would be awesome, right? He would definitely help his game and they've got the guy. He just probably won't be on the court until 2026. I think Cooper Flag can do it. I guess my, my concern with this team is like, is the offense going to look sludgy? You know, in those nine games AD played in last year, they're less than three point makes less than three point attempts. Like, I think they're just going to have to grind out a lot of wins. I don't think there's going to be a lot of easy wins for the Dallas Mavericks. Even though they are super talented. I just, I just don't think it's be easy for them to score in a lot of nights.
Podcast Host
Yeah, and you know, thinking about their defense, I think bottom third of the league last year, I think that's a magic factor for them. The fact that you're in the Western Conference and you can't stop anyone. Like that's going to be a big problem. When you think about the fact that you want a point guard, someone that can handle the ball a little bit better. Of course Angelo's here, but is there a possibility for trades this season to try and get that, that ball handling guard into the mix?
Christian Clark
Yeah, I mean, I think they would. They would, you know, say, oh, Kyrie Irving's are. He's our trade acquisition. You know, he's going to be our mid, mid season acquisition. But yes, the real answer is yes. You look at the two guys they traded for ahead of the 2024 deadline that helped them get to the Finals. Daniel Gafford and P.J. washington, both those guys signed extensions this year. I'm just looking at the Mavericks roster as a whole after the flag miracle. It's a very crowded front court. You know, I think, yeah, some people are kind of looking at it like, okay, could they make a consolidation move just because they have so much front court talent and not a ton of ball handling and outside shooting? Is there a move to be made? They didn't, but I still think it's possible one happens mid season. I'm leaving the door open. You know, I don't think they're looking to make any trades right now, but I think you have to leave the possibility open. And when you look at the extensions from, you know, those two guys who they got in 2024, Gafford is trade eligible this season. So, you know, Gafford's on a nice contract. He's a guy good enough to be a starting center. P.J. washington is not trade eligible. But you know, when I'm just looking at the CAB sheet, when I'm just looking at this roster, this guy, that's one guy I kind of look at. If, if things don't go well and they feel like we have to do something to address the guard spot, that's one, one area I'm looking at who.
Podcast Host
And capable centers are hard to come by in this league. Daniel Gafford, what I think would have a really good market for him. When you think about the the Dallas Mavericks and you're evaluating what could this season be. You talked about the sludge factor. You talked about the offensive capability. There's different things that you could look at in terms of what could be the biggest swing factor, what could change the trajectory of the Dallas Mavericks. It could be Anthony Davis being in prime Anthony Davis form. It could be Cooper Flagg having the rookie season that we're all anticipating him to have. It could be Klay Thompson returning to Splash brother. You know, feelings of shooting outside. Like, what do you think would be the biggest factor for this team that could completely swing them in the right direction?
Christian Clark
Yeah, I think, Look, I think the Mavs, even if Kyrie only plays 20 games or whatever, we just don't know they're. They're talented enough to. To be a top six team. You know, I think most people see them in the play in, and if things don't go well, they could be below that. But, like, the thing that, you know, it hinges on to me is like, how many games is Anthony Davis going to play in this year? Because nine games last year, obviously, with the inductor. Actually had a really, a good run of health for him in like the season and a half before that with the Lakers, like, was very available, Very available. Then, you know, dealt with a lot of injury issues before that. I mean, that's. That's like the number one thing that, you know, if you're telling me how the season goes for Dallas, how many games is AD gonna play in? Are we getting 65 plus 70 games from him or is this gonna be, you know, 50 or something like that? I think that's kind of what it hinges on.
Podcast Host
For me, the greatest ability is availability. That's very real Christian. Okay, so you kind of hinted this a little bit last year, ending up 10th in the Western Conference in the playing position, of course. Looking at this season, what is the most realistic outcome for the Dallas Mavericks, in your opinion?
Christian Clark
You know, I like when you saw all the over unders come out. I think some people are like, whoa, Dallas is kind of low just for all the names and the talent that they have like that, like those kind of stuff are sliding them in at the play in. And I think that's probably where I see them too. You know, I think they're. I think they're one of those playing tournament teams. You know, they could be going into that and Kyrie looks awesome and it's like nobody wants to see them. And they are a team capable of going deep in the playoffs. Or it could be like last year, it's like they. They just kind of limped in and then they peter out. But I see them in a play in tournament range, I think it's possible they could get into the top six, but it's just a. It's just a weird basketball fit to me. Even though, like, I love a lot of players on this team, it's just they're playing a little bit different than.
Podcast Host
Anybody else, I really think that their, their defensive capability just from being massive could actually be a super huge factor in being able to get them a few more wins. Maybe I'm biased right now at the time of recording this, I'm thinking of, I'm sitting in the bay, I'm looking at the wnba, I'm looking at the Golden State Valkyries just beating New York Liberty, but of the biggest teams in the W just off of playing hard and playing gritty. And I don't know if that's going to necessarily be their identity in Dallas, but I definitely think there's something about size and making it difficult to get past them because that's what I saw with the Mavericks in summer league, particularly with Cooper Flag playing almost like a man zone just because he's so huge out on the perimeter. So I, I, I'm putting some hope into the Mavericks whether they figure out their offense or not. We'll see. But I do think there's something about you can't teach size. So that's all. Anything else on the cutting room floor before this season gets going for Dallas Mavericks from you?
Christian Clark
No. I think besides just like how does it look offensively? Who's going to get those kind of like what are they doing? DLO goes to the bench. Is it, is it Cooper flag? Is it Exum? Is it, is it Brandon Williams maybe is it. You're going deep into the bench and Ryan Nemhard who they got on a two way. I'm just curious to see what they do in kind of those non delo minutes and if they really do just like smash the Cooper Flag at point guard button.
Podcast Host
Yeah, it's, it's going to be an interesting offense. It's going to be interesting how teams just blow that up as well because we know that, you know, DLO can find himself into foul trouble if he doesn't really want to play defense. So we'll see what happens there. But I appreciate you Christian, giving us all of the insight for this team going into this season. I think that there's a few teams around the association that could have super high ceilings and then also very low floors and I feel like Dallas definitely is one of those teams. So thanks Christian for joining us. And guys, continue to stay locked in on the NBA Daily as we continue all of our season previews. Have a good one.
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The Athletic NBA Daily — “Can the Mavs surprise in the West?”
October 1, 2025 | Hosts: Dave DuFour & Christian Clark
This episode spotlights the Dallas Mavericks as part of The Athletic’s NBA season preview series. Dallas enters a pivotal new era after the departure of Luka Doncic, the arrival of rookie Cooper Flagg, and a series of bold offseason moves. Host Dave DuFour and Mavericks beat writer Christian Clark dissect whether the new-look Mavs can be a surprise contender in a loaded Western Conference, exploring roster construction, key questions, dynamics around stars like Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, and scenarios for the season ahead.
[01:37 – 03:18]
[03:18 – 05:02]
[05:02 – 06:58]
[10:24 – 13:14]
[13:14 – 14:53]
[14:53 – 17:36]
[16:47 – 19:00]
[18:37 – 19:00]
Bottom Line:
The Dallas Mavericks are full of intrigue and uncertainty: a new franchise face (Cooper Flagg), an injury-prone but elite star (Anthony Davis), and a roster with size, defense, and high-variance talent. If the pieces fit, health cooperates, and young players step up, they could surprise the West. But questions around ball-handling, offensive cohesion, and Davis’ availability leave their true ceiling/floor as one of the league’s great unknowns for 2025-26.