The Dallas Mavericks were one of the many teams who were involved in spending the big bucks on Day 1 of free agency. Showing their faith in Kyrie Irving, Mark Cuban and co. signed the 6-foot-2 Point Guard to a three-year, $126 million deal. Even though the Texas side failed to advance to the postseason last campaign, with Luka Doncic and Irving as their backcourt pairing, the Mavs remain a title-contending squad. Unlike many other analysts and enthusiasts, Nick Wright doesn’t believe in the Mavs’ title chances as they’re set to enter the 2023-2024 campaign with the 10th best odds at lifting the Larry O’Brien trophy.
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Since re-signing Irving, Luka Doncic and co. have +2300 odds to be crowned the 2024 NBA Champions, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. This means for every $100 wager placed, the bettor will be rewarded with $2300 if Jason Kidd’s boys do actually win the title. Agreeing with the betting sites, even Wright claimed that the Dallas Mavericks are not the favorites to emerge victorious.
Nick Wright lauds Luka Doncic, expresses dissatisfaction with the franchise’s roster
On the latest episode of First Things First, the panel spoke about the importance of the Irving deal for the Mavericks franchise. Nick Wright played a huge part in the discussion, as he declared that the roster wasn’t constructed well enough to win a Championship.
But before expressing his discontent with the team’s roster, the FS1 analyst couldn’t stop raving about Doncic. According to the 38-year-old, the Slovenian was one of the greatest offensive talents in league history.
“It’s hard to say it after last season but I still believe it in my bones that he’s[Luka Doncic] one of the five best players in the sport… I think every year should be Championship window type of stuff with a player like that, one of the best offensive players I think I’ve ever seen in this league.”
However, Wright also rang the alarm bells for the Mavs as a team, “They don’t have the horses. They don’t have the size or the defense to be able to compete deep into the postseason. They just don’t.”
To be honest, Wright isn’t wrong. The Mavericks have failed to capitalize on Doncic’s excellence over the past few years. Despite adding an offensive maestro in Kyrie Irving, the last 20-25 games of the 2022-2023 season exposed the team’s lack of defensive presence. Even though the team has drafted exciting prospects in Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper, acquiring a starting Center should be the team’s priority this summer.
However, Wright isn’t the only analyst who has no faith in the Mavericks’ chances at winning the title.
Brian Scalabrine believes that Luka or Irving will ask for a trade by February 2024
Former NBA player Brain Scalabrine shares a similar belief as Nick Wright. However, Scalabrine took it one step further by stating that the Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving-Luka Doncic All-Star duo wouldn’t even survive the entirety of the 2023-2024 campaign. According to the 2008 NBA Champ, either of the two Guards would be asking for a trade by February 2024. Take a look at his statement in the tweet below by ‘hoops bot‘.
In their short stint as teammates, Luka and Kyrie did prove to be offensive threats. However, winning only 5 out of 16 games while playing together, the duo wasn’t successful in clinching many wins. Hopefully, the failures of the Dallas side’s previous campaign don’t have an adverse effect on the upcoming season.
