Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic recently praised new head coach Jason Kidd, calling the chance to play for the 12-time All-Star an “excellent opportunity,” as relayed by BasketNews.com.
“I think he’s an excellent coach who also knows a lot about how to play basketball and how to lead a team,” Doncic said. “It is an excellent opportunity for me to grow and I think it will help me a lot.”
The 22-year-old Doncic is coming off yet another impressive season, averaging 27.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game. Doncic also expressed confidence that the Mavericks, led by the likes of himself, Kristaps Porzingis, and Tim Hardaway Jr., have an opportunity to compete for a championship in 2021/22.
“As I say, that is my goal and I believe that you can always fight,” he explained. “We’ll see how the season goes, but in my opinion we can be there, fighting for everything. I do not know if we need one or two players. We first have to start playing and then we will see what happens.”
There’s more out of the Southwest Division tonight:
- Spurs guard Bryn Forbes has hired Octagon for his new representation, the agency announced on social media (Twitter link). Forbes signed with San Antonio last month after spending the 2020/21 season with the NBA champion Bucks. Prior to joining Milwaukee, the 28-year-old sharpshooter played his first four seasons with San Antonio, appearing in 261 games. He was previously represented by Excel Sports Management.
- Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com (Insider link) rates the Celtics–Grizzlies trade featuring Kris Dunn, Carsen Edwards and Juan Hernangomez, giving Boston a grade of B and Memphis a C. As we previously relayed, Boston is set to trade Dunn, Edwards and a 2026 second-round pick swap to Memphis in exchange for Hernangomez.
- In case you missed it, the Spurs decided to waive 25-year-old forward Chandler Hutchison this weekend. San Antonio acquired Hutchison as part of a five-team August trade. He appeared in 25 contests with the Bulls and Wizards last season, averaging 5.7 points and 18.2 minutes per contest.
My money is on Luka for the MVP this year!
Hutchison’s career just got the kiss of death.
That kiss was administered long ago, it’s just that his contract outlasted it.
Luka is the man. But Mavs ain’t getting out the first round. Talking rings is crazy talk.
Doncic saw Carlisle replaced, possibly by his own actions, so I am sure he is happy with his successor— at least for now. The praise was moderate but accepting on coach/player terms.
By hiring an experienced, and past hero and PG, and to some extent troublemaker, Dallas may have maneuvered Doncic into greater team attachment.
I think there is a significant case for a better use of these last two roster spots, with that said I will admit you can’t do everything in one off season.