MAVS NEWS:

[Chicagojk]

I hope Clayton makes it to Dallas. I love taking chances on guys who were thought of higher a year or so before. A lot of times they aren’t good enough and/or have lost their confidence never to return. There is a lot of guys who just needed time and a change of scenary. Look at a guy like NAW in Atlanta. He bounced around twice until finding a footing in Minnesota and now Atlanta.

Clayton is older and that is a little concerning. I never thought of him as a true point. He works best playing with other creators. Best case scenario for him is something close to JET. Maybe not as good but some of the same scoring and big game instincts. On the other hand, he could be in China next year.

[SkenfromLMF]

Haha, fair. I used a little hyperbole there with "we were all."

Oh my bad...

I thought the hyperbole was that he was good - I will take serviceable and still believe he is that...
I hope we learn a lesson when we are tempted to rush into converting contracts.

[KillerLeft]

Clayton is older and that is a little concerning.  I never thought of him as a true point.  He works best playing with other creators.  Best case scenario for him is something close to JET.  Maybe not as good but some of the same scoring and big game instincts.  On the other hand, he could be in China next year.

Well, this is where semantics come into play in a confusing way when we have these discussions. To use your example, JET is who I'd call the Mavs' PG for basically his entire Mavs career. It's true that Kidd took over a lot of the strategic parts of the job when he arrived (and that change was for the better), but when the team got into their half court offense, it was essentially dozens of variations of the two-man game between Terry and Dirk. THAT's the part the Mavs are lacking, imo, and while I don't know his game like the back of my hand yet, the highlights make it seem like that's the role Clayton Jr has been playing, so far. 

Between him, De Larrea and Sasser, I think it's more clear (and positively so) that the Mavs are even thinking about mixing in a fair amount of pick and roll into their offensive plans. I personally think that's a relief and portends potential good things for the way the roster is designed, as long as we assume that at least 1-2 of Johnson, Lively, Gafford and Cisse will be around for a while. What Kidd tried last year made ZERO sense to me. Maybe I missed the genius - that's very possible. But this...I'm starting to feel like they have a plan. 

Everyone has just been saying "wait until Kyrie is back." Setting aside any kind of debate about what he has left or how injury prone he's likely to be, one thing Kyrie is NOT is a pick and roll ball-handler. AMAZING iso scorer. Deceptively good and smart as a movement/relocator type of off ball player. Obviously able to pass to the right guy when an advantage is created (by himself or someone else). Pick and roll ball-handling is its own niche skillset with very structured goals, and he has just never played that way (that I know of). If the plan is to build the offense around Kyrie, than pulling defenders out of the paint at almost any cost should be the goal, imho. The presence of sooo many vertical spacers on the roster is SCREAMING for a prevalent use of pick and roll, imo.

[Smitty]

@noahweber00
After signing Walter Clayton Jr., the Dallas Mavericks now have eight former first-round picks from the last four drafts.

- Morez Johnson Jr. (No. 9 pick in 2026)
- Sergio De Larrea (No. 25 pick in 2026)

- Cooper Flagg (No. 1 pick in 2025)
- Walter Clayton Jr. (No. 18 pick in 2025)

- Zaccharie Risacher (No. 1 pick in 2024)

- Jett Howard (No. 11 pick in 2023)
- Dereck Lively II (No. 12 pick in 2023)
- Marcus Sasser (No. 25 pick in 2023)

The new era is here.

[Chicagojk]

https://x.com/lockedonmavs/status/211290...deo/1?s=46

[Chicagojk]

https://x.com/sam_vecenie/status/2113022...75269?s=46

[Smitty]

@TheSteinLine
Mavericks coach Dusty May says his son Jack, now a Mavericks staffer, was newly signed Walter Clayton Jr.’s college roommate at Florida.

[RasheedsBigWhiteSpot]

The Mavs are pulling a "Dallas Cowboys":

"The defense sucks!"
"Yeah, but have you seen how bad the offense is?"

Is there a redeemable aspect of the Mavs that gives you any hope that they can impose their will in any way?

I feel like teams are just going to blitz Kyrie and unless Cooper makes the play, the Mavs will "grenade" their way out of games.

[michaeltex]

https://x.com/sam_vecenie/status/2113022...75269?s=46

I like the term "First Round Pick Rehabilitation Project", FRPRP or FRoPReP for short.

[FireNicoHarrison]

I like the term "First Round Pick Rehabilitation Project", FRPRP or FRoPReP for short.

I hope 1 of those low cost former FRPs will turn in rotation player...

[Smitty]

@All_Things_Mavs
Walter Clayton's Jr. highest-scoring games last season:
- 20 PTS, 2/5 3P, 8/12 FG, 2/3 FT
- 20 PTS, 4/6 3P, 6/11 FG, 4/4 FT
- 17 PTS, 2/2 3P, 6/6 FG, 3/3 FT (!!!)

Highest-assist games:
- 14 AST, 2 TOV
- 11 AST, 3 TOV
- 9 AST, 2 TOV
- 9 AST, 2 TOV

[ballsrchr]

I remember thinking that a two way guard was convincing us he was the best we had available...

He was....the best "point guard" we had available.

This year we haven't decided who is available or even if we're going to play a point guard...with predictable results.

[Scott41theMavs]

After last night, why don’t we just pull the dang trigger on PJ for Scoot? Must be 1) Masai loves PJ too much, 2) Schmidt doesn’t think much of Scoot’s potential, or 3) Portland won’t give the Mavs the additional picks they want or are even asking for picks back.

[Scott41theMavs]

Also, very disappointed in Sergio’s minutes and impact last night after his strong preseason.

[Smitty]

Christian Clark (@christianpclark)
Mavericks injury report for tomorrow’s game against the Pacers:

Santi Aldama (right knee surgery), Tarik Biberović (right heel bursitis), Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery) and Caleb Martin (right thumb sprain) are out.

Jett Howard (right calf soreness) is doubtful.