How Close are the Mavericks to Championship Contender Status? | DLLS Mavs Podcast

How Close are the Mavericks to Championship Contender Status? | DLLS Mavs Podcast

how close are the Mavericks to championship contender status we’ll discuss as we welcome in our special guest Brian Dearis live in studio coming up next on the DLS Mavs podcast [Music] [Music] [Music] hey what’s up DLSS Mavs Nation it’s your man Kevin Gray alongside Mavericks beat Riner and our special guest on the show today Mavericks radio color analyst Brian Dearis happy to have you here in the show with us today how are you what’s up i’m entering the lion dead you’re going to Am I okay here are we good well you’re good for now i’m a little bit worried if Stein shows up which uh is he just invisible again or at least until his buddy Fwell shows up stein’s got three phones and two laptops and he’s just you know Stein heard you’re going to be here and he’s like “Oh no i don’t want any of this.” Yeah he’ll be with us a little bit later on in the show of course Mark Stein very busy at this time of the year uh but he’ll be with us a little bit later on in the show we got a lot to get to in today’s episode how close are the Mavericks to championship contender status what position should Cooper Flag potentially play uh if he does in fact become of course as I say a Dallas Maverick coming up here in less than two weeks and game three of the NBA finals last night where the Indiana Pacers take a 2-1 series lead we’ll get into all of that here on this terrific Thursday tim Ko how are we feeling feeling fantastic enjoyed a great basketball game last night and uh yeah we on we go on we go i I got a I got an interesting thing I thought about actually this morning mhm think about this durk got here right there as his bobblehead in 99 right january 99 21 years overlap that year with Luca then we got what five and a half more years of Luca and a two-month break right and now we could potentially because Cooper’s not turning 19 till 4 days before Christmas get 20 years of Cooper so you’re talking about other than that two months literally almost 50 years wow having a generational player on your roster that’s it’s unprecedented i was trying to think of comps and the only ones I came up with were Green Bay in their quarterback position there you go right brett Favre Aaron Rogers now Jordan Love who I think is a stud and is going to play another 10 or 15 and maybe Pittsburgh with their coaching who they’ve had three coaches all who won a Super Bowl in the last 50 years but am I missing something i mean Stein is a historian can maybe talk about soccer and Manu during their run but I was I was going to bring up like Barcelona has obviously had like a just but but some of that is that you know these these mega friend it’s not one person you know like you know you can go Ronald Dino into you know he played alongside Messi like you could kind of do that but it’s it’s not as like the face of the club the organization the franchise uh it is a little bit different when when you look at it that I mean it’s kind of like cra like the just whatever it’s luck or blessed to have these players to talk about yeah of course Durk in the later ends of his career wasn’t that guy as much but you still had him and fans still loved him like to have really kind of always have a stud that you can go i mean there are a lot of teams a lot of franchises go to the wilderness for long periods of time that don’t get what we’ve been able to get and we had two months of not having it and it was Armageddon around here it was yes we’ll get into some of that as well of course celebrating the 14-year anniversary of the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA championship with their sixgame series win over the Miami Heat brian Deir’s going to have a lot of fantastic nuggets when it comes to that we’ll talk about a little bit later on when we make Steinvis visible he will also I’m sure have stories to share exactly exactly when he comes in but let’s get into it because he’s here he’s invisible he’s in Okay that’s right we’ll just say he’s invisible for now um but let’s get into it because we talk about the championship celebration that was 14 years ago how close are the Mavericks to getting back to championship contender status after reaching the NBA finals a year ago missing the playoffs this post this past season but at the same time a bright future Cooper Flag looking forward coming up here in less than two weeks anthony Davis Kyrie Irving of course coming back from his torn ACL how close are the Mavericks to getting back to that type of championship contender status well I think when they’re fully healthy and Kyrie’s at 100% uh I mean I’m putting them right up there you’re talking about a lineup of Kyrie Flag PJ uh AD your two centers you’ve got a nice you know depth of bench after that um again fully healthy and health is such an important piece we learned about that the hard way from the Mavs and you you learn about that with these two teams that are in the finals now they’re healthy the teams that weren’t healthy that had injuries in the playoffs Boston uh you know teams that went down the wayside it makes a big difference some of that’s luck some of that’s how you prep for it but they’ve got a three-year window of going for it and they should and they should do everything they can not mortgaging the future to go win now kind of this thread the needle thing right golden State tried to do it but their picks weren’t that great the other big deal is that the Warriors didn’t have the guy who was coming up who was the guy right their their guys were the old guys if you’re doing two timelines and your second timeline is a bunch of young guys you hope are good that’s a completely different avenue completely different situation circumstance than what Dallas is facing where they have a guy they know is good and they know they can build around uh before he’s even played an NBA game that is how confident and sure everybody is of Cooper Flag uh that that that’s how good he’s going to be so just completely different circumstance and we’re looking at you know Boston a team that just lost in you know the the playoffs they’re going to have to go shed salary from what was going into the season the title favorite the modern NBA in the realities of the cap sheet says that when you have a team that’s close you go for it because you don’t know how many chances you’re going to get and you don’t that’s the key there is that in an apron world now there really aren’t dynasties anymore and you don’t have runs even Oklahoma City is going to pay the piper down the road yes they got a lot of draft picks but they’re going to have to let some of these guys that once they get eligible for contracts go and backfill those guys and will those backfield guys be as good but you know you’re looking at a team now because and Daryl my said it before the draft Cooper Flag’s the best asset in the NBA because he’s going to be a star he’s going to score 20 points his rookie year and he’s cheap so you can build the pieces around him go for it for those three years and then guess what when you want to rebuild yes you’re gonna have number one starting to back fill back in coming back in your lineup coming back in your quiver and he’s 21 you’re building around a 21-y old that now has three years in the league whose development is just a a a hockey stick sure so I think they can thread the needle but when you say your original question how close are they continuing look this year’s going to be a transformation year how how quickly does he adjust what moves are they making are they are they making other moves or is it just going to be adding that guard for the non the taxpayer mid level you know that that kind of affects things but if you really look at the West this year you know Oklahoma City look I think the Maz had Oklahoma City’s number the only team to beat him twice over there beat him three out of four times all three times without Luca um you know I think Denver’s a really tough matchup but I think we’re in Minnesota’s head you know you look at uh some of the other teams at the top i wasn’t scared of any of those teams so yeah Oklahoma City is obviously a juggernaut we’ll see how this series ends up but you’re talking about contender yes I think they’re a contender right now we just watched a awesome game three you know just just awesome basketball i I thought for 48 minutes like really really really high level basketball in what those two teams were doing did you see their strengths reflected in the vision that Dallas is trying to build or do you see Dallas trying to build a different vision that can compete and be on par with what the Thunder and the Pacers what their strengths are you know it’s interesting and I think Barkley talked about it a lot postgame after the game last night about what Oklahoma City did because the interesting thing is they went small right and was that the right move it was very Avery Johnson Golden State 2007 right putting Devin George in and it didn’t work instead of playing to your strengths you matched up to the other team and was there a mental aspect to that the Maz are trying to do is they’re saying “Listen,” and the league is doing this oklahoma City before the finals Boston uh Cleveland and you know these teams were all double big and so the best teams are playing double big why because you could put one big out teams can’t match up with it if you try to double that guy you’re lobbing to the other guy underneath and defensively you pull one out you’ve got that insurance policy at the rim and rim protection is so important so they’re leaning into double big they’re also leaning into length and defense and you got to have defense what you see now is if you have a player who can get exposed on the defensive end the playoffs especially the farther you get along absolutely brutalizes you it happened to Jaylen Brunson and Cat it’s happening to Hallebertton and so that you you can’t hide those guys anymore you’ve got to have all five players who can hold their own defensively and so I think that’s a key thing of how they’re building this thing out and oh by the way they still have to be really effective on the offensive end yeah yeah i mean weak link theory there there’s been a lot of people who have talked about this um Noah Phillips uh 5F substack I think had a really good piece about it uh it’s more a you know weakling theory is basically like the NBA used to be about you are as good as the best player on the court you’re the best player on the court you can put out there that is that is your ceiling and now it’s more about the floor of your worst player uh I think it’s a really convincing argument i don’t think it holds up 100% and I I don’t think the argument is is meant to be doing that but but the NBA I think is shifting in some ways to how bad is your worst player and that’s how bad you’re going to be i think on offense it really stands out uh players that don’t have offensive value uh I think on defense if you’re a mediocre defender you you can’t be bad but if you’re a mediocre defender there are ways and schemes and an ability for uh teams to kind of you know work you into uh your you know their system uh make sure to protect you on the flip side I thought Tyrese Hallebertton had one of the best defensive games I’ve seen from him he wasn’t great he wasn’t like a good defender but I thought like last night in game three that was spirited effort from every you know every minute that he was on the court that really stood out to me so when you say that that that all does kind of resonate with what the Mavericks are trying to build i do still worry a little bit that some of the weak link if you want to view it that way uh just the idea Dallas is not going to have a lot of shooting uh the the two big lineup they look closest to is Moy Allen because all of these other pairings of of double bigs that you mentioned and absolutely have trended into the NBA over last season this was a a very noticeable trend at least one of these guys in all these situations was a spacer you know brought some level of offensive value that wasn’t just rim running uh I absolutely have you know I’m I I think Derrick Lively and Anthony Davis on defense and then you add two more uh you know if PJ’s still on the team next season Cooper Flag uh so Anthony Davis and Derek Lively they’re the they’re going to be going into next season or at least looking back at this season they’re the only two starters with a wingspan of 75 the only team in the entire NBA that has wingspans like two starters with the wingspans 75 or up uh then they have two more players with seven foot wingspans and Cooper Flag and PJ Washington uh like like at some point you know they might as well just all hold hands run a little two-3 zone and you’re covering pretty much every inch of the court you saw glimpses of it obviously in that half in the Houston game you saw it in the Sacramento playin game when they’re on they’re long no one’s getting into the paint and the issue then becomes on the offensive end and I think what you’re seeing in the finals is you saw look if the game’s close Indiana has the advantage because OKC is stagnant it it’s what the Mavs were in the Luca era it’s one guy and then if he doesn’t have it he’s got to kick out and they made SGA work on defense so much that he was worn out and he couldn’t really get to his spots on the flip side it was pace and space ball movement body movement run don’t let the defense get set because that’s where Oklahoma City’s really good i think that’s where the Mavs offense has to develop in being body movement getting that thing rolling they don’t have that Luca guy kyrie likes to play off the ball we’ll see how Cooper kind of plays in that system that’s going to be the interesting thing is can they change because you’re right they don’t just have the pure shooting but if they can get enough of that ball and body movement you know it’s not like Indiana shoots lights out from three either right but they have enough they get enough of that easy baskets pace i think pace is really really important you’ve seen Jay Kidd the last couple years especially since the trade really just pushing got to run got to run yeah and I I when I went to look at the numbers I was worried i I felt I I had a I had a preconceived bias i thought going into it that Anthony Davis was just a slow paced player and I thought that the teams around him would be slow paced because of that uh last season that was true for the Lakers and then the Mavericks to an extent past few years the Lakers have ran a lot they’ve been pretty quick tempmpoed uh this is you know even with an aging LeBron who does kind of pick and choose his spots uh they’ve they’ve been able those Lakers teams in the past had been very fast-paced i think it’s possible i don’t think it’s possible that they’re going to replicate what the Pacers do in terms of just sheer amount of passing no second in the league in in passes per Yeah and you know like the the way the Pacers just constantly move the ball i think that’s you know we can talk more about game three later on but I think that’s really wearing down the thunder but it’s it’s all interesting let’s take our first break here on the DLS Mavs podcast when we come back our guy Mark Stein will be joining us here live in studio as well as with our guest Brian Deir we’ll talk what positions should Cooper flag play and how do the Mavericks go about solving their guard issue we’ll talk about that coming up next here on the DLS Mavs podcast just like your favorite team needs a home court advantage or home needs a home floor advantage and Impart today can help you get it impart today has flooring experts dedicated flooring professionals focus on flooring every single day of their lives we’ve all been to the big box stores and you know you’re going to get lost you’re going to find ask somebody for help with the flooring that you’re trying to trying to get for your new home or condo or beach house or skyscraper and you’re going to ask them you know like okay what’s the best floor what’s what’s the whole deal about this are they going to know are you sure they weren’t doing light bulbs yesterday you sure that they weren’t doing aren’t going to be doing sinks tomorrow empire Today lives in briefs flooring and they’re going to be with you every step of the way it’s a whole different ballgame uh schedule a free inhome estimate today because some things are just better at home dls listeners can receive a $350 discount when using promo code DLLS yes you heard that right a $350 discount with code DLS restrictions apply visit impart today/dls for full details whether it’s watching the NBA finals the Stanley Cup final your favorite Major League Baseball team play watching the game should be easy you should be able to enjoy it with your favorite Bud Light it’s easy so you don’t have to overthink it if you’re wearing your favorite jersey or your favorite pair of Lucky socks make sure that when you do not only you’re enjoying the game but you’re enjoying it with a crisp taste of Bud Light don’t know what to serve your friends it’s easy pick up some pizza get some Bud Light on the way home as well and be able to stock your fridge and have a good time while you’re enjoying your favorite game it’s that easy just like Bud Light which is always brewed with four simple ingredients for a clean crisp taste bud Light easy to drink easy to enjoy enjoy responsibly 21 and over Annheiser Bush Budllight beer St louis Missouri pleased to be welcomed in studio by our national NBA insider where you can always dial up the Stein line at the Stein Line he of course is our guy Mark Stein mark what’s going on two phones laptop is that a old school number two pencil too what you got going on over there you know these are what in these times of crisis in these times of chaos this is usually when I just stay in the dungeon and work from there and join the show remotely but I came in for you Brian Dear thank you man so don’t make me regret it we feel honored don’t make me regret it Brian Dearis you know I uh I’m a I’m a loyal watcher i watch uh on the bus on the team bus a lot for the road post games because that’s easiest when I can tune you guys in and I love seeing Steiny over in the corner on his phones shouting out uh anybody who chats from Norway yes that’s awesome oh Dear is a real stand of the show okay do people see you watching on the bus uh you know I kind of just put it in the pocket and put the earphones on just so when when Kevin goes off it doesn’t uh it doesn’t shake up the entire bus you don’t have to lie i know that the players are crowding around behind you being like “Oh what’s this?” We got to we got to we got to say on the post show tonight what new take does Bobby have did Bobby like my performance max Christie is like “Did Bobby like me?” Max is the answer is Bobby who was just offcreen yells the answer is always yes uh sometimes the answer is yes sometimes the answer is no when it comes to our takes on this show uh where we get into some of our frostiest takes that um you know you and I maybe Stein doesn’t have a lot of t but uh Oh look at that that’s right that’s right that is a smooth segue that’s right let’s get into before we get to what position Cooper flag i got a you got a frosty take you want to get off real quick this was frigid frosty take this was this was this was a truly aging badly badly moment for your guy i’m sure you if you were up early you notice this i’m still not over it i’m still sick it’s not really a take but it’s just it’s frosty it’s bad it’s cold it’s ice cold not even near you know the it is the 180 degree opposite of how good a Frosty actually is i get the word that the Mavericks have now formally received permission a request for permission from the Knicks to speak to Jason Kidd that request immediately denied i’m excited to tweet this first break the news get Kevin Gray all excited and somehow the old man tweets Maverick’s assistant coach Jason Kids h how did I do that that’s not a typo that’s just old age and you don’t have the uh No I I did fix it but it was funny the great Carll illustrator so gently he he saw it one nanocond after I did it so gently didn’t want to come to me and say “Hey hey dummy you you called Jason Kid the Mavericks Maverick’s assistant coach.” So he just sent me the very the nicest note Mark i hate to be that guy but I think you accidentally said Bobby I got it yes how many times have I texted you with edits from your uh your old Stein line i mean with with your grammar i’m I you know I am I’m aging i am it is i will say can I can I give my Jake Kid opinions here absolutely well first of all before you do that uh that frosty take by Marsh Stein was brought to you by Wendy’s wendy’s is putting a twist on classic with all new frosty flavors find your new favorite flavor and clock it for a sweet treat time anytime including midnight or later a fresh refresh on a classic got to be Wendy’s at participating US Wendy’s hours may vary by location where you will find Mark Stein delivering his coldest takes if it weren’t for Kevin you guys would be all over the road you hear that Carella you hear that correct no I’m just joking just Just kidding so here’s the here when when Steiny did send that tech tweet out uh I was very happy and here’s why and I’ll you guys know this but what is and we’re seeing this over and over with all these coaches who’ve been fired with three games left to go in the season and two weeks to go in the season and after making the Eastern Conference Finals what’s the number one thing that management looks at in terms of a coach what what what are they looking for more than anything uh locker room buyin relationships and from who uh front offices who are the stars of this team anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving and who do they want coaching this team they want Jason Kid coaching this team for sure and who is going to be a great person for Cooper Flag a guy who is top 75 and in the Hall of Fame you want Jason Kid to be the coach of your basketball team and that is look I wrote an article in March in D magazine about I basically shadowed him for a day from when he got up to when he walked to the bus after the game and these guys worked their butts off he’s at the office right now you guys talked about it Tuesday we know who they’re going to draft but they’re looking at a bunch of E10 guys they’re looking at a bunch of guys who’ve been in the league they’re they’re going through all of that they’re trying to put summer rosters together heck they’re looking at 1 through 60 on the draft they may get back in you never know they don’t want to be Charlotte when they you know remember the Justice Winslow trade when they they they you know they’re like “Oh we we didn’t we didn’t look at any other spots we weren’t prepared so we didn’t take the four number ones that Boston was offering us.” This team does and so they’re in there working right now and so you want him to be your coach look when LA wants you last year and New York wants you here why did LA want him because LeBron likes him from his time there why does New York want him because Brunson likes him from his time here you got people that want you you don’t don’t look that gift whatever that thing you know that bird in the basket i don’t know what the term is but you know what I’m trying to say don’t look a gift horse in the mouth kiss a gift with a bird in a basket yeah so um also eggs and um bicycles right all of that into one so I think that you know listen the timing was wonky because other teams obviously Houston had come out now we’re know now we’re learning that Houston’s I mean New York’s basically like the guy that got divorced and he’s asking all of your buddy’s wives out yeah that’s kind of foul they’ve done it like five times now they got rejected every time hey go find some others you know there’s some available ones that are out there right there’s some good ones that are out there but I think that this this shows Jason’s value listen a lot of people had a lot of issues with him over the last whatever and people can have whatever their opinions are but you’ve got a guy who not just the relationships X’s and O’s knows what he’s doing and I think that the the the love he’s been getting from these other teams should show you this is the guy for not only the next three years but then I I just think there’s a really good fit with what Cooper is as well tanner is the audio okay are people are we are we Yeah tanner Tanner says the audio is is is looks good on our end it might be a YouTube thing uh relaying from Tanner all right so am I am I am I uh am I crazy here Steiny no look I mean I and I saw I I already lost track someone had a comment in there about you know timeouts you know i mean yeah that’s Come on every coach in the league is going to run a foul of their fan base for various rotational things they do ways they manage the game people at home not just in basketball in every sport are going to think they can see it better they can do it better that is part of what makes sports intoxicating and I’ve said this before as a Manchester City fan I will do it with Pep Guardiola i will see things that Pep does and say you know and lose my mind over it that is what I mean it is that is a fundamental aspect of sports watching for all of us with the teams that we love but it’s like I it is it it blows me away that so many great players want to play for Jason Kid and that is so rarely discussed it’s not just Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving again for all the talk about Milwaukee milwaukee does how does Jiannis Sante Kmpo feel about Jason Kid 10 years later well you see him after the games hugging him and talking ask him players are constantly looking for sure you know there’s a there are a lot of elements to coaching and man this is hard but I’m gonna I’m gonna now you know publicly agree with Brian Dearis which he knows I I don’t love to do the mo I I’ve I’ve sh I stole this formula from a league GM I don’t know 10 years ago and I I flat out stole it from him but I’ve been touting it as mine ever since the most important thing for an NBA coach will always be the players the talent on the roster is always going to be the number one determining factor but number two is player buyin and third is X and O genius what we perceive to be you know like all the talk about Rick Carile and what an amazing string puller he is and all of the knowledge and tricks of the trade that he brings to the table of course it’s important and it’s helped Indiana take a 2-1 lead in these finals but one and two are more important and he has player buyin in Indiana he has Tyrese Hallebertton’s buying in Indiana that’s one of the reasons why it’s working so well but one and two still supersede three no matter how much coaching genius you have you have to have one and two to succeed in the NBA did the Mavericks quit on Jason Kidd over the last three months yeah no no not at all i had a former coach tell me to my face “This team should have won 25 games after everything that happened.” When you’re running out eight guys three of them are G-Leaguers he said “That’s a 25 win team.” And they compete there was maybe the second half of the Houston game in Houston late in the season uh late in March when they lost by 30 uh maybe one other game where you’re like “Okay the effort wasn’t there.” I remember that second half was right after Exom got hurt at halftime they’re like “Really?” Again that’s it those were the time and maybe the Clippers games where we were like “Okay that was where I those were maybe the two and a half games that I said they’re not competing.” Yeah i I think I think when it comes to kid the the most the largest criticism that I can I can offer to him is is in some ways that back in a complimented to him Tanner it’s it’s the the David uh David’s comment from from a second ago he mentioned “No you’re good.” It’s but he basically mentioned that there were times that it felt like you know few seasons ago 22 23 where he seemed to uh this is David’s comment my biggest issue with kid was during the 2223 season when he seemed to purportedly wreck the rotation just to prove a point that being said the roster was flawed um again to prove a point I don’t know that exactly but there are times when I watch the Mavericks and I watch the kid coach Mavericks and I think I’ve seen you coach this team sometimes even this roster in the middle of the season I’ve seen you get more out of them i’ve seen you be more creative when it comes to end of game stuff you know rather than just running Spencer Denwitty into the ground things like that um like I said in some ways there is a level of back and a compliment to that in the sense that he does get a lot he can get a lot out of a team that I think has flaws um so if there like that’s the thing that sticks with me most often when I think uh you know when I think of of criticism but like that’s a small criticism or or it’s a you know it’s not as massive as just you’re out of your level the locker room doesn’t like you i agree those are the more important things tactically you don’t you don’t know what you’re doing those are much bigger issues those are much bigger things to focus on and consistently when Kid is coaching this team to its best and when it looks the best coached under him that’s uh those things aren’t a enormous issue for me uh also just the idea that he can also get change out of stars uh something I I think that we saw over the years with Luca um all of those things absolutely lead me to believe that Jason Kid is a good coach let’s take our next break here on the DLS MAS podcast when we come back more on what Cooper Flag could potentially look like also let’s get into some championship memories from the Tim Mavs title run from 14 years ago all that and more coming up next here on the DLS Mavs podcast you all know that moment the one where you realize you left your favorite sunglasses at the beach or on the roof of your car or at a gas station three states away maybe you left them in the uh in the office and they they just disappeared uh Kevin I’m looking at you why are you looking at me i saw you wearing a pair of Shady Rays that looked awfully suspicious they were mine just to be clear but then I found Shady Rays and it changed my life shady Rays are sunglasses made for real life they’re seriously good-looking they’re polarized they’re durable and they’re not stupidly expensive and here’s the wild part if you lose or break them even on day one Shady Rays will send you a brand new pair there’s no guilt trip just replacements so now I actually wear my sunglasses without fear on hikes at concerts on the boat wherever shady Rays is eyewear that has your back we’ve teamed up with Shady Rays to bring you an exclusive offer head to shady.com and use code DLSS for 35% off polarized sunglasses try for yourself the Shades rated five stars by over 300,000 people and when you look good you feel good and when you feel good you should also smell good as well and that’s where Mando comes in mando is a men’s deodorant brand that is hyperfocused on keeping every aspect of a man’s body smelling fresh and clean well I need that well just you wait you came to the right place you don’t even know what’s coming next they’ve got scents geared toward being with options like bourbon leather cloverwoods Mount Fuji and pro sport as well this you know what when you stink it’s all over the place it’s your balls your butt cracks your your grundles that’s right that’s right craig Lewick it’s all of that and we want you to make sure that you smell good and you can do that with Mando obviously with Mando you can have a whole body deodorant it’s safe to use anywhere on your body created by a doctor who saw firsthand how normal Bio was being misdiagnosed and mistreated when it comes to Mando we’ve got a starter pack for you that’s perfect for our new customers it comes with a solid stick deodorant and cream tube as well deodorant and two free products of your choice like mini body wash and deodorant wipes and free shipping along with it as a special offer for our listeners new customers get $5 off a starter pack with our exclusive code that equates to over 40% off your starter pack use code DLLS to at shopmando.com that’s s h o p m- n d o.com support our show and tell them where you sent you smell fresher stay stage and boost your confidence from head to toe with Mando all right me Mando need you uh Bobb’s probably got a starter pack for you laying around somewhere he could take care of you with at the end of the show we appreciate our guest Mavericks radio color analyst Brian Dearis hanging out with us here also the host of that take that with you podcast Mark Falwell and our national NBA insider Marstein live in studio with us here as well we’re less than two weeks away from the NBA draft where the Mavericks presumably going to take Duke sensation Cooper Flag with the number one overall pick in fact Cooper Flag is going to be making his way to Dallas coming up here in about 5 days or so with his official visit scooped by Steinline that’s right do we have more real quick Stein on what that visit could potentially look like as we get called involve I actually promised you guys that and I have been engaged on so many other fronts that I have not chased that down so I uh I apologize are you leading the welcome design uh designation no Brian delegation delegation me no I got nothing to do with it he No you’re not you’re not taking him out to to barbecue i’m trying to get the mass players to go Greek dancing like the like Dak Prescott did okay there’s a lot of What do those obviously as someone who’s been in player development when a pick comes in a potential pick comes in what does that potentially look like for a player when he comes in well this is going to be different than most so obviously everything changed after the lottery so they were they were already had scheduled all these workouts for guys that were going to be in that you know kind of 10 to 15 spot sure um and those are actual workouts and they go through workouts they go through interviews um you know if they have time they have a meal and kind of something you know but uh this is different so this is like okay all those are canceled we’re scheduling E10 guys summer league guys two ways GLeagues and then we got one guy cooper doesn’t have to work out this is a let’s let’s talk about what our vision is what you like to do where you think your strengths and weaknesses are they actually used to let you in those i used to pick them up i I remember J driving Jason Capono to the airport yeah it was Jason Caponovich oh yeah uh no they it’s it’s non-stop so yeah they have interviews and it’s it’s a much bigger thing you know when I was there basketball operations was 12 people now there’s 85 people over there and they got sports psychologists thinking oh you know all these specialists and people who work out with them as opposed to having one zero drills and sometimes you have two guys at the same time and they battle against each other um but this one’s obviously is different this is more just here’s who we are here’s some of our vision and thought process where’s your head at you know what are you comfortable with that’s kind of what I’m envisioning i mean it’s not they’re not going to have him putting up there’s no great obviously for the Mavericks big next couple of weeks coming up for them as they get ready to welcome in Cooper Flag next week for his official visit he’s hoping the Mavericks are hoping that Cooper Flag can help them lead to another championship 14 years ago today Dirt Nitzky and his Dallas Mavericks won their first ever NBA championship in Miami in six games as Dirt Nitzky of course was the finals MVP that year and Mark Cuban and the Mavericks celebrated with their first ever championship on that floor 14 years ago top three night in your life Dearis oh without question i I had about Remember the $100,000 bottle of champagne i had about 10,000 worth walk me through what that day was like for you obviously for the team getting prepared to play that game but just the emotions of that day leading up to obviously it culminating in winning a championship that night so you have to understand that that was a really old team that no one had ever won and I remember really Mark Follow and I both were kind of like this was these are this is the chance like the this is kind of you’re going to ru the day if you don’t make this happen and obviously you had two shots at it if you rewind to 2006 um Miami came into Dallas with the same thing where they had two chances to win one and Pat Riley famously said “One suit one shirt one tie that’s what we picked that’s what we prepared for.” And so the Mavs had that same mentality one suit one shirt one tie even though they were up 3-2 going into that game and so there was a lot of nervous energy going in and uh remember Dallas was not favored you know this was the first year of the Heels and it was uh you know if we can look back and say “Oh it was a great team.” But no one really believed first round of that playoff series everybody picked Portland to beat Dallas and obviously it was that big Brandon White game that said “Oh here we go again back in there.” So um you know to to get that win and just the release of all that and the joy and obviously having the relationship Stein and I had with Durk to just know all of the effort having been in Germany with him you know in August of 2007 I think it was and seeing all the energy that he put into it all the work and everything that you know every disappointment after every playoff series and and literally saying to me quote you know another year of my prime down the drain to see that for him and and what it was for him and his family and everybody else uh that’s kind of the release that we had that night and and what’s funny is I was not working for the team at the time i was just a fan and Mark so I was up in the stands and and they have all these you know standups and presses and press things going on on the court and Mark was doing interviews and he looked up and he saw me he kind of gave me one of these and so I you know I didn’t have a credential and I just walked in the locker room with him and and he was very superstitious because of the parade drama and so he’s like “Well what do we do now you we got to go somewhere and celebrate.” Because the team was always scheduled to stay over and so I said ‘Well you know Liv is a great club and it was at the hotel I was staying at which was not the team hotel and and he’s like that’s it that’s where we’re going so that was the that was all the plan like basic and we literally took the team bus and drove to the side door of live and I remember Durk turning to me and going you know are they gonna boo us i’m like these are all tourists like they’re gonna be fine and they opened the doors and the place absolutely exploded and that was the night till 6:00 in the morning stein what do you remember from that night that day honestly like I felt so much pressure i felt like I had to write the best story of my life and I felt like not that not that Durk would have cared one ounce i don’t even know if he read it but I was just like I’ve covered this guy’s whole career they conquered the mountaintop brian Winhurst to this day laughs at me and this is going to go way inside journalism ko will love this story i would like I said I put so much pressure myself i guess I should have been ready for the Mavs to win and finish the series there cuz like like Brian said that was their whole approach we’re going to wear black you know we’re not you know what it was we’re packing one suit we’re we’re finishing this tonight so like their whole mindset was finish this but I guess I Well you have a black cloud always over your head no no no so like I should have been way more ready as the to to write this definitive i was not and so when the when the game ends like they go they ESPN had kind of switched up the plan of me and they’re like “We need your stuff like right now.” And so like I wrote them I don’t know like 10 12 paragraphs and sent it in as what we call running but like this was too big of a story for running and like Winhorse couldn’t like this was already this was already like because after the game you know I got to do all the reporting like you know see especially seeing Durk and talking to Durk after he’s finally won a championship so it’s like a couple hours of reporting maybe not a couple hours but at least an hour plus after the game then I wrote like 10 12 paragraphs sent it in and I told Winhorse “Yeah I just filed my running.” And he just started laughing at me because I was a slow I’m I’ve always been a terribly slow writer anyway so he’s just laughing that I’m not further down the road i I while these guys are at live all night long I wrote till the sunlight i finally filed the real final decent version that I could live with with myself when I walked out of that arena it was American Airlines arena back then it was bright sunlight by the time I finished had more fun than he did yeah so it’s like like um I was in that building i’m going to go kick it and live i was in that building all night long trying to write something decent and but but that’s my selfish the the memory that will stick with me forever is finally getting to Durk after and just seeing the just the purest joy and relief on his face of a day that I’m sure even up 3-2 even as the seconds were ticking down that he he wondered would this day ever come and then of course the story that everybody knows that that’s been written about and covered about you know Durk climb you know climbing the scores table to get off the court so he could he didn’t want to cry in front of the world and just to go in the shower and cry and Scott Tomlin the Mavs longtime you know huge part of their PR department for two decades he is now you know working daily with Dirk love you scooter you know in in in you know doing everything for the Dirk Nitzky Foundation Scott Tomlin and Tim Frank from the NBA had to go in the locker room and tell Durk you got to get out here man and get your trophy like like you know scooter and you got to understand this is a guy who when he won the MVP thought he let the city down because it was after the Golden State loss like that’s the mentality that he had you had an MVP- like season you absolutely did not let the city or the franchise down that’s his mindset and that’s what drove him every summer to improve his game and had you got to realize in 11 and and in six he didn’t have those left-handed runners that he used twice in game two and in game I think four was it like Yeah with a hurt finger too yeah like he didn’t have that in his repertoire which I’ve always added that I’ve always thought that was really poetic because Durk was the guy who always had the soft label right you know he was a European remember the sniffing the sniffling and Yeah yeah he he he had carried that label for a long time and the most uh the most defining shot of his entire career was a left-handed layup a so not only is he driving to the basket something he got criticized for not only is is he laying it up with a hurt hand you know something he also got criticized you know for being soft and and all this stuff and you know even back to 2003 when you know certainly people thought some people thought he should have played even though the right decision of course in retrospect was that he sat out of that of that uh 2003 Western Conference Finals uh yeah I just thought there was so much poetic about that um yeah and then and then just the clutchness you know something that I think I I don’t know how much he was ever criticized for not being clutch uh you know maybe early on certainly as time went on uh that that that faded but but yeah I just thought you know not only is that his most defining shot but all the narratives of his career are kind of you know like packed into that moment and then shattered and just they they all fell apart in that moment and you’re you know as Rick Carlo said you’re a made man at that point and so they have this room in the back where they take pictures with the trophy and the MVP trophy and Bill Russell was there sitting on a chair and of course I had already had a couple beers in the locker room so I decided it’s time for me to walk up to Bill Russell and that you know only 10 more till he catches you and he just kind of was basically he laughed and that he made it clear that that was enough out of me enough conversation between you and Bill let’s take our final break here on the DLSM podcast when we come back how the Mavericks not only get ready for flag but also let’s take a look back at game three of the NBA finals from last night where the Indiana Pacers take a two-1 series lead and Rick Carile now two wins away from his second NBA championship all that more coming up next year on the DLLS mass podcast but it’s die hard time here on the show we want you to become part of our DLLS sports family the easiest way you can do it is to like comment and subscribe here at DLLs Sports but also becoming a diehard member going to all dls.com clicking that diehard tab and becoming a member of our family here you get 20% off our events we’ve got our member only Discord you can get access to tremendous content from our guys Tim Ko covering the Dallas Mavericks clarence Hill Jr and Joseph Hoy covering the Dallas Cowboys sean Shapiro and Sam Nestler covering your Dallas Stars our guys Jeff Wilson who’s watching the game right now upstairs covering all things for the Texas Rangers you get all access to tremendous content when it comes to all dls.com and become a diehard you also get your free t-shirt as well and get some dope merch when you become part of our family uh Marstein’s going to pull out his physical die hard card and show that out of reach come on Stein you come on the show you got to bring the physical die hard card um when you do you get when you get that die hard card you can show off to folks how you’re part of the DLLS sports oh there it is there it is that beautiful gold vibranium titanium physical die hard card dieard it’s a die hard card you don’t have a die hard card i barely got a shirt oh we got to hook you up we got shirts well we got a lot of stuff on our merchandise site as well uh allc citywork.com you can shop our tremendous merchandise there but oh yeah we’ll hook you up with a shirt you got We can’t hook you up with the hat the The hat is exclusive to say one of one of Insiders Edition one of one but you you know what you can do Brian you can hang out with us in Vegas november 15th through the 18th you can hang out with Clarence Hill you can hang out with Joseph Hoy Jeff Kavanagh and also Jesse Holly uh November 15th through the 18th where it’s our DLS road trip the Dallas Cowboys visiting the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football and you can hang out in Sin City with our guys during that particular weekend we might get Stein to come out there to Vegas with us uh as well during that weekend stein gets after it at the club oh we need to hear more about that all dls.com become a diehard member today right here for DLLS Sports really appreciate our guest Mavericks radio color analyst Brian D don’t forget I’m still on center court that’s right so like 20 times a year and then D magazine writer i’ve got a great Cooper Flag article coming out the week of the draft looking forward to that having fun with uh Devin Harris and Dana Larson of course we we’ll definitely get Dana on the show someone in the chat was like “We want to get Dana on the show.” Yes let’s get Dana on the show let’s get Dana on the show and then she and I could and she should just tell Dearis stories for like two segments we’ve already I guess now that we’ve had we’ve had Devin Harris on already we’ve had Brian Dearis so I guess it is time to have Dana Fwell and we’ve had Mark Follow on the show yeah Dana is the best one of the group so she’s the best and most long-suffering of the group well we’ll get some stories from her when she comes on the show andrew with the 199 super chat jason Kquo I’m not playing i’m just watching just like you guys well we appreciate you watching Andrew we appreciate you watching thank you so much and super chatting that’s right and super chatting uh as we finish up here on the show today going through some of the memories of course of the Mavericks winning the NBA championship 14 years ago dirt Dissy of course Finals MVP the franchise’s first ever championship looking to some get back there here in the very near future um the coach of that Mavericks Championship team is now two wins away from winning his second NBA championship after the Pacers last night got a big first half from Benedict Mather and also a big second half from Tyresese Hallebertton and they are up two games to one on the Oklahoma State are they actually going to do this well I mean my frosty cold take from you know earlier in the show was the fact that the I picked OKC to win the series in five and that is now blown out the window after the Pacers won last night um but Rick that’s bad not as bad as tweeting that Jason Kid is an assistant coach but that was bad see but you can edit that like you did i can’t edit that because it’s already now three games of the series i’m telling you I I I had editing function on the tweet and I and like I said this more than 24 hours later I don’t feel much better uh the winner of game still the winner of game four wins the series that’s basically it okay and uh and it’s going to be tough i think that uh if they continue to pick up Shay pressure him wear him out somebody else over there has got to step up i’m looking at you Jaylen Williams um and are they going to switch and go back to a two big lineup they’ve played the big too big lineup for 10 minutes they’re a plus seven in that time obviously extremely small sample size um I know why they went small to have that you know keep keep everybody in front of them switchability um those are the things that I’m looking at going forward i think they’re going to win in game four i I think the Pacers or the Thunder the Pacers okay okay i think what the Pacers are doing to the Thunder is that they are out passing out running them and they are wearing them out i thought that the the Thunder look exhausted they looked exhausted had two days off like why why is he why is the youngest team in the league exhausted that’s why that’s the only that’s why I feel so good about the Pacers in game four because there’s only one game between this only time in the whole series that there’s only one game rule every time you switch a city you add a day remember though when Cleveland was playing Golden State and they were going back and forth they didn’t want to do that anymore why do they look tired Mark Stein this is why um they are a team that is we know this is the best defense in the NBA a historically great defense in the regular season uh this is a team that that harries and and wears you out this is a team that wants to to hunt the ball they want to hunt in packs they want to jump passing lands uh the Pacers are the team that have that average in the regular season second most passes in the entire NBA i think that the Pacers are it’s not just the tempo it’s not just that they’re running up and down the court um I do think that the Pacers like this is this is one of the best condition teams in the entire NBA all true everything you’ve said I think all the offensive action I think all the passes I think all of that all the randomness there is no time to think like they are they are playing OKC’s frantic aggressive overaggressive on purpose because they can often pull it off overaggressive style against them and I think that’s what we’re starting to see especially in the fourth quarter well look Mark Dagnel essentially said that without as much detail when he said the Pacers play unlike anybody else in the league and it’s been hard for us to adjust to that but the Thunder are the youngest and deepest team in the league and they haven’t been here before no and that that is a huge thing because Caruso is the only player that the Thunder really rely on with any finals experience and that was the bubble it’s not like the Pacers had a ton either and really only Seakkum in terms of you know a really pivotal member of their rotation who had finals experience but I mean the Pacers so far through the first three games plus 27 in the fourth quarter well and to your point Carile has finals experience and that’s like he is has he out coached Dagnell so far in the first three games yes they have the coaching advantage they have the clutch advantage when they’re playing wild ass they’re a better offensive team they’re not a better defensive team but if their offense can become their defense by that and then make them pull out of the bowl and walk it up then they can play defense in the half court i do want to do this since we’re running out of time talk about Cooper and where he is best fitting sure because we talked about this a little bit before we got on air do you like by the way that the guest we he he’s got the rundown he’s not just the guest you showed up on set your just set your iPad down he’ll he’ll talk about start at noon not 12:15 so here’s the deal um I think it was you or Bobby was saying he’s a four i think on this team he’s obviously not a four because AD wants to play the four is he a four in the NBA i think he’s probably better as a three he’s a three four there’s no doubt he’s a three four which is he best suited for i talked to Brian Scalabbrini brian Scalin discovered him when he was 14 uh on SiriusX and I just basically took over the wheel again and asked him a question it’s like where is where is he is he a three four he’s like he’s actually a one two three he’s a ball handler and I think that on this team if PJ Washington’s on your roster it’s actually a two now his shooting’s got to improve and I think it will we saw in the last three month two months of the season he was shooting over 40% from deep and again as an 18-year-old he’s only going to get better but if PJ’s on your roster I’m I’m starting and I’m gonna play him at the two tell me I’m wrong that is a massive lineup you got Cooper at the two PJ at the three you interchange obviously Anthony Davis who wants to play the four still either Gaffford or Lively at the five position that is a big big big lineup so my my concern we also talked about this for just a second now there also plenty of time when you’re playing Brandon Williams and Kyrie or or ex guard you bring in along you know that he’s going to play the three but I think that that you’re closing or starting maybe with him and I think he can play that really effectively dallas Dallas averaged 27 threes by far the fewest in the NBA after Kyrie got hurt um obviously because of the what your of course does Cooper alone change that so so my question is going to be what type of creator do they need at the one there were a bunch of games they played with Anthony Davis and Dererick Lively and PJ Washington all healthy naji was starting uh you know but you you had the core you had your core backcourt out there cooper changes this dynamic a lot he is a creator he can create stuff he’s just he’s just a really smart basketball mind really good passer he’s a really good passer is he going to create advantages from the jump can he create advantages as a two uh if you put uh I would be interested like if you put him out there as a two and then you got PJ Anthony Davis Derek Lively what you might be doing is instead of being like we want teams to guard Cooper with a four because we think he’s just quicker we think he’s got better foot speed can’t really keep up with him we’re saying we have so many big bodies on the court that like you don’t know who to guard but it is a situation where it’s like I think if if he’s playing the two he’s going to get asked to post up a lot like does he have that in his bag is that a situation where you can get advantages for also if Cooper is posting up because if he’s playing the two you know like you’re just running out of tall guys you’re going to have a lot of 6’5 66 guys trying to guard him uh is Cooper a better option in the post to initiate offense over Anthony Davis uh obviously I bet they can get away with some like you know high low stuff uh you know the NBA that’s that’s not the core of an NBA offense at this point all of this does still revolve around who is the one replacement because they’re going to be missing Kyrie for 50 years the one’s a traffic cop but like what type of what type of what type of creator are you looking for that situation like I’m not asking you to name names but you know what type of person do you think what skill set do you need i I need somebody who can organize the offense you know we all you talk Listen you went off about Spencer Dimwitty i saw that like the reason Spencer Brian Dez is a real stand watcher of the show i appreciate it right you’re referring to because I think I’ve done that like five times yeah I know exactly what has done it like twice as much i know it was I know what he’s referring which I know which game he’s referring to and the reason that Spencer Dim when he was in there is that he organizes the offense he puts everybody in the right position he knows how to get the plays run the sets going where somebody needs to be get the ball and and and you need that role on a team you saw this team when when he wasn’t as effective later in the season you’re just playing one-on-one try to isolate somebody and drive to the basket and that’s what their offense was so so you need somebody who can organize the offense they don’t have to be a huge scorer they just need to be able to to get from point A to B and get Cooper Flag can run the ball and create himself and be a point forward naji Marshall we know can do that uh the knife uh AD obviously can be a hub and you can play that kind of big up top you know Chicago action and all that i just think that’s I don’t think Cooper alone we saw this last season we saw very you know we we saw it with Spencer last season i think they’re going to have a better player than Spencer next season i think they I think they’re they’re going to have they’re going to go get somebody who should be a better option but last season they had they had bottom 10 bottom 10 offenses you know like like look at look at you know you can look at the time period where you know Kyrie was available but uh you know everybody else was injured you can look at the time period after Kyrie had got hurt and the big minutes started coming back i just don’t know if there’s even with Cooper coming in you know especially early on it’s is you know Cooper at the end of the year might be a totally player like might be 20% better than Cooper to start the year because that is the type of linear growth and development that he like that’s the type of path he’s on and that’s the most exciting thing about him you know there’s a billion exciting things but the most exciting thing is that his development and growth curve has been absurd and is and he’s still 18 it’s only going to keep getting better yeah i’m just still not convinced that what we saw last regular season when they really struggled creating threes when they you know really struggled scoring points over and over again i I just if if you spend 50 60 games playing with that type of offense because you’re just waiting for Kyrie to come back my concern and this has been my concern on the show said a lot you know it’s just that you’re gonna be too far behind to catch back up when you do have a healthy Kyrie who I’m not worried about i’m not worried about Kyrie just Yeah but here’s the deal you you just need to get in the dance and and I think we’ve shown that you don’t have to be the one or the two seed to to get there you need to win one game and you take home court back they just get in the dance be top six and as Kyrie ramps up and then you just want to be playing your best basketball look the team with the second best record from January one on are the Indiana Pacers they started horrendously that’s where you want to be you want to be you know look at the trend lines not the headlines get in that right direction get that momentum going have everything going so by time All-Star break runs around you know what your team is and you start running in that direction will there be holes will there be some shooting issues going forward yes can that defense help out there so that you’re not having to score 120 points as much yes brian tell the folks where they can find you and where can find your work these days uh at B Dearis on all the socials D magazine on that article coming out uh take that with you we’ll continue to do pods throughout the summer probably one or two a month we interviewed uh assistant GM Matt Ricardi we’ve got some good stuff planned we’ll do a big uh uh summer recap in the middle of July once some of these moves we’re talking about gone on i’ll be on the draft coverage on Draft Night on the Mavs YouTube channel and I’ll be on uh radio and TV again next season looking forward to all your terrific coverage throughout the course of the entire season and this offseason appreciate you hanging out with us here on the DLS man i think I’ll probably jump on in October maybe do a little little season preview action with my boy Steiny we’d love to have you we’d love to have you here we let him back that’ll do it for us here on the DLS Maz podcast appreciate it got Tanner making us look good and sound good as always thank you sir that is our national NBA insider Mark Stein that is our special guest Brian Demir that is our Mavs beat writer Tim Ko my name is Kevin Gray bobby will be back tomorrow boys and girls we’ll talk to you tomorrow at 12:00 p.m right here on DLS Sports y’all be good we’ll talk to you later peace [Music] [Applause] small city like the mayor

New ALLCITY BALL KNOWER Bonus for NBA Finals & Stanley Cup! https://promotion.allcitynetwork.com/all

Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks are looking to get back to championship contender status. But how close are the Mavs to making another deep postseason run? The DLLS Mavs crew discusses as they welcome in Mavs Radio Color Analyst Brian Dameris live, in-studio! Plus, the guys look back on the 14-year anniversary of the Mavericks NBA championship win over the Miami Heat as Marc Stein and Dameris provide their best stories from the title year and more!

#cooperflagg #anthonydavis #kyrieirving #derecklively #pjwashington #dallasmavs #nba #danielgafford #klaythompson #najimarshall #jasonkidd

00:00 Intro
04:40 How close are the Mavs to championship contender status?
17:05 Marc Stein joins the show
18:38 Wendy’s Frosty Cold Takes
21:15 Jason Kidd’s best attributes as a head coach
32:52 Cooper Flagg’s upcoming visit with the Cavs
35:27 Favorite Mavs championship memories
47:57 The Pacers go up 2-1 over the Thunder

An ALLCITY Network Production

SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/@DLLS_Sports

ALL THINGS DLLS:

WEBSITE:
DLLS Locker

BUY MERCH:
http://DLLSLocker.com

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL:
Twitter: @DLLS_Sports
Instagram: @DLLS_Sports

Become a DLLS Diehard and get access to premium content, our Discord channel, discounts on merch, and a free shirt! Sign up here: https://alldlls.com/join-diehard/

Monarch Money: Use Monarch Money to get control of your overall finances with 50% off your first year at https://www.monarchmoney.com/dlls

Gametime: Take the guesswork out of buying concert tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code DLLS for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed.

Shady Rays is giving out their best deal of the season. Head to https://shadyrays.com and use code: DLLS for 35% off polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated 5 stars by over 300,000 people.

Empire Today: Schedule a free in-home estimate today! All listeners can receive a $350 OFF discount when they use the promo code DLLS. Restrictions apply. See https://empiretoday.com/DLLS for details.

HelloFresh – Get 10 FREE meals at https://hellofresh.com/freemavs. Applied across 7 boxes, new subscribers only, varies by plan.

Rugged Road: Reliable, durable, and built to be used– Rugged Road is your ultimate outdoor companion! Head to http://ruggedroadoutdoors.pxf.io/ALLCITY and use code DLLS for 10% off!

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.