As the summer inches closer to its conclusion, the NBA offseason goes along with it. In one month, preseason basketball will be upon us, with several organizations looking to turn around after a disappointing 2024-2025 campaign.
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One of those teams is the Dallas Mavericks, who were in the headlines a lot last year but for all the wrong reasons. Midseason, they traded away their franchise player, Luka Doncic, to the Lakers. Then, they lost Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving to injuries. AD did come back, but it was enough. The Mavs would get bounced in the Play-In one year after making it to the NBA Finals.
However, this offseason has been better for them. Davis is looking healthier, and the team selected Cooper Flagg as the No. 1 pick in the draft. Can Dallas be a dangerous threat in the West? Charles Barkley thinks so. The NBA legend claimed that the Mavs are the second-best team in their competitive conference, but only if they can remain healthy.
“That Dallas Maverick team, they might be the second-best team in the West if they could ever get healthy,” stated Chuck during a call-in interview with The BetMGM Network. “Obviously, Kyrie is going to come back mid-season, but if AD can get healthy, and that boy Cooper Flagg, he’s the real deal.”
Barkley always has some wild takes that seem outdated. This one is no different. The Mavs are a good team and have a tremendous prospect in Flagg. But to claim that they could be No. 2 in the West even without Kyrie, who needs another 6-9 months for his ACL tear to recover, is laughable.
The Nuggets, Lakers, Rockets, Clippers, and Timberwolves have all grown stronger since last postseason. Houston has Kevin Durant. The Clippers got back Chris Paul. The Lakers got themselves some defensive help with Ayton and Smart, and the Nuggets? Well, they still have Nikola Jokic. Mavs are finishing in the 6th or 7th seed at best, and that’s if they survive a Play-In against the Warriors.
It’s just funny to hear Barkley of all people stand up for the Mavericks after he tormented them last year. Shortly after the team traded Luka, they raised ticket prices. “The person who announced this week that y’all raising ticket prices got to be the dumbest person in history. You got to read the room, guys. It’s not the time,” he declared on the NBA on TNT. Credit to Chuck on that one. He cooked the Mavs, and they deserved it.
And it’s not to say that Dallas COULDN’T deliver in the West. It’s just that their path to the playoffs would be so much easier if they were in the East. Barkley later joked with MGM that he is more likely to randomly draw a team from a hat than pick who will win the East this season.
Dallas has a strong fanbase, so they’ll be looking for something to cheer for this season. Chuck is hopefully seeing into the future. The problem is that even if he’s right, and the Mavs finish No. 2 in the West, they ain’t getting by the OKC Thunder. The defending champs are currently favored to win it all again next year. Honestly, who’s gonna stop them?
