Luka Doncic was the preseason MVP favorite last year and could have contended for it if the Mavericks remained the top-four seed they had been until February. A late-season collapse after trading for Kyrie Irving sunk Dallas, as Luka struggled to find his fitness late in the season.
JJ Redick thinks Luka will have a great 2023-24 season because he’s getting into shape and will have a full training camp alongside Kyrie for them to figure out the Mavs’ offensive game plan.
“He’s as competitive as they come and he wants to win. And what I think Dallas has done is they’ve built a roster around him and Kyrie that makes sense on paper and we’ll see how it plays out. But the two of them together, figuring out how to play with each other in a limited span last year, getting a full training camp, Luka coming into camp in shape. I think Luka’s poise, is as good as he’s been. I think Luka’s poised for an outstanding season, an outstanding season of winning basketball, which gets me excited.”
Doncic averaged 32.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 8.0 assists last season, a year he was plagued with conditioning issues and injuries after an extremely heavy workload until the Kyrie trade.
His mind and body essentially broke down by the latter half of the season, so the Mavericks will need to ensure Luka isn’t overworked to that extent again to maximize their chances of making the playoffs.
JJ Redick Approves Of The Mavericks Offseason Moves
The Mavericks have had a very calculated offseason, zoning on all their team needs and revamping the core of the squad alongside Luka and Kyrie. Redick has been a big fan of the rookies they drafted, along with the acquisitions of Grant Williams, Seth Curry, and Richaun Holmes.
“The reason I like this is what Dallas did this offseason. The re-signing of Kyrie was step one, they had to do it. But then all the stuff that they did on the march, right? They drafted Prosper, they traded up for Prosper. He has some good moments in the Summer League. Derrick Lively, they brought Dante Exum back, signed Grant Williams, brought in more shooting with Seth Curry, re-signed Dwight Powell, traded for Richaun Holmes, and now all of a sudden, you have that vertical lob threat that Luka needs to play with.”
They have put a team together but could still make some much-needed moves. They have multiple bigs on the roster but may not have one that’s starting caliber on a winning team. In addition, they could also use another big wing defender, as rookie O-Max Prosper may not be able to transition to NBA basketball fast enough to be a major contributor as a rookie. At least they have Luka and Kyrie and they’ll figure the rest out as the season progresses.
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