The Dallas Mavericks saw their backup point guard Jalen Brunson walk for nothing to the New York Knicks this offseason. Brunson had a great situation in New York, with his father being an assistant coach and his father’s agent being in charge of basketball operations at the team. He had to leave, but the Mavs chose to not replace him.
Dallas could have signed Goran Dragic but allowed him to walk to the Chicago Bulls. They haven’t replaced Brunson with anyone yet, and the point guard market has become very thin, with the Mavs now interested in signing Dennis Schroder. Tim Bontemps ripped into the franchise for these moves while Tim MacMahon revealed why the Mavs didn’t sign Dragic.
Tim Bontemps: “If these bozos sign Dennis Schroder and not Goran Dragic, who is Luka’s idol, to be the backup point guard off the bench, that would be completely insane.”
Tim MacMahon: My understanding is that J-Kidd doesn’t think Dragic has any juice left, so the Mavs basically asked him to be a foot shorter version of Boban and sit at the end of the bench all season. He said hell no.”
Tim Bontemps: “I saw Dennis Schroder singlehandedly destroy the Boston Celtics season for half a season before he was jettisoned and then they became the greatest team of all time for 2 months.”
Tim Bontemps roasts the idea of Dallas signing Dennis Schroder and MacMahon says as he understands it, *Jason Kidd* doesn’t think Dragic has any juice left 😬 pic.twitter.com/IIuwzU3vGF
— Kirk Henderson (@KirkSeriousFace) September 8, 2022
Did The Mavericks Make A Mistake By Not Signing Goran Dragic?
Treating an NBA veteran like Goran Dragic the way the Mavs did is shocking. Based on his performances at the ongoing EuroBasket and even during the playoffs for the Brooklyn Nets last season, it was obvious that Dragic had a lot to offer. With the relationship Doncic and Dragic share, it almost seemed like a no-brainer for both sides.
The only experienced ball-handlers on the Mavs roster are Luka and Spencer Dinwiddie. The team will be hoping that Jaden Hardy is better than his second-round pick status to come in and give the team some ball-handling when both Doncic and Dinwiddie are not on the floor.
Schroder would be an odd signing for the Mavs, but maybe he can come off the bench like he used to in Oklahoma City and have a career resurgence and be a pure bench scorer? Dragic is in Chicago, so the Mavs may need to settle for Schroder at this point.
