Marc Stein of ESPN.com discussed the Mavericks in a radio interview with a Dallas station and touched on a number of topics concerning the Mavs' present and future rosters. SportsDayDFW.com has the transcript. Here are the highlights:
Stein suggested the Mavericks should think about tanking to position themselves for the draft lottery:
“The playoffs are out of reach. … There’s just too much ground to make up, and to me, what’s the point anyway? To me, it’s going to come to a point where it’s time to play the young guys, it’s time to focus on development and the reality is, even if this isn’t a good draft, the highest possible lottery pick will benefit this team the most.”
He also suggested that part of the Mavs' planning for the future should involve giving more time to rookies Bernard James, Jared Cunningham, and Jae Crowder:
“It’s time to play James. it’s time to play Cunningham. it’s time to feature Crowder more. I mean, nobody wants to hear that but that’s the reality.”
Stein also dismisses talk that the Mavs may look to trade Dirk Nowitzki:
“It’s just so hard to get players at Dirk’s level that I just don’t see any way the Mavs want to give up their one known, and especially because of the relationship he and Cuban have, what he’s meant to this community. Dirk’s frustrated right now. That’s clear with the stuff he’s been saying all week, but he does not want to go anywhere. He wants to finish his career here. He’s saying all this stuff clearly because he wants to see a fix. He wants the team fixed. It’s not because he wants to leave."