Things didn’t go as planned for Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks when it came to DeAndre Jordan this summer, a fiasco since compared to make-up sex by Cuban. Losing Jordan was an undeniable setback for the Mavs, but all hope was not lost in making worthy roster additions. Cuban still held onto Wesley Matthews, who signed with Dallas as a free agent even after Jordan’s decision to stay with the Clippers. Deron Williams is in the mix with something to prove after being bought out by Brooklyn.
The Mavs even added Javale McGee for some Samuel Dalembert insurance and just to have another body. Cuban thinks with all of these parts in tact, they can see improvement from last season.
From ESPN’s Tim MacMahon:
Mark Cuban on Mavs: “I never make predictions, but I think we can be better than we were last year if we’re healthy.”
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) October 16, 2015
The injury bug is an early issue for the Mavs. Matthews is coming off an Achilles injury suffered this past March. Chandler Parsons is still coming off surgery on his right knee, an injury which kept him out of all but one game in last season’s playoffs. Deron Williams has been out of preseason action with a calf injury.
Dallas won 50 games last season and lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Rockets in five games. The Mavs played their best basketball before they traded for Rajon Rondo in December near the trade deadline, which only became a funky turning point in their season.
Since Dallas lost last season’s leading scorer in Monta Ellis, Parsons, Williams, and Matthews particularly will have to be healthy and ready to be aggressive for Cuban’s prediction to have true potential.
