Since winning Game 6 of the 2011 NBA Finals in Miami, the Mavericks haven’t won a playoff series and are only 4-12 in post-season games.
Even for the most loyal fans with the most optimistic glasses, it’s hard to see how those numbers improve in 2016. And that’s because, of course, the Mavs have no idea who will be taking their most important shots next season.
In the wake of their five-game loss to the Houston Rockets, we do know who won’t be.
The Rajon Rondo experiment was an unequivocal disaster, and the chances of the free agent being in Dallas next season are about has high as Mayweather-Pacquiao living up to the hype.
Rondo’s sorry stay lasted 46 games, and he leaves with his prized “Playoff Rondo” reputation in tatters.
The Mavs traded for him in December, knowing they wouldn’t win a title without a major addition and gambling that he would upgrade their perimeter defense and rebounding. He not only didn’t do either, he trashed their team chemistry and quit early in Game 2.
Along with Rondo’s departure, it doesn’t look good for a Monta Ellis return.
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The Mavs’ leading scorer and closer can opt out of his contract to be a free agent, and there was nothing in Wednesday’s exit interviews to lead us to believe he’s loyal to Dallas. As in, the team’s communications department asked Ellis to speak with the media but he declined and departed without a word.
Ouch.
Other key free agents include Tyson Chandler, Al-Farouq Aminu and J.J. Barea. While Barea and Chandler want to stay, Aminu said he will test the free-agency market.
What those transactions leave the Mavs with is a roster that – yet again – needs revamping. Best we can hope for is a full recovery from knee surgery by Chandler Parsons, another productive year from 37-year-old Dirk Nowitzki and for management to hit a home run in free agency. In other words, sign LaMarcus Aldridge and/or DeAndre Jordan.
But even with those players, questions would remain. Aldridge, though younger and better, plays the same position in a similar jump-shooting style to Nowitzki. And how would the arrival of a defensive-oriented center in Jordan affect the status of Dallas’ current defensive-oriented center, Chandler?
Without a first-round draft choice thanks to the Rondo trade, the Mavs will again attempt to rebuild through summer transactions. Give them this, they’ll swing for the fences. Sometimes it works (Chandler, Ellis, Jason Kidd); sometimes it crashes spectacularly (Rondo and Lamar Odom).
The farther removed from the ’11 title we get, the more hollow 50-plus wins and an early playoff exit rings. But this is an undeniable truth as the Mavs again try to re-shape their roster: Since 2006 they’ve only advanced past the playoffs’ first round twice.
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He currently lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
