For Dallas Mavericks, bringing Kyrie Irving back on a three-year $120 million deal is a savvy move. With an MVP-level partner Luka Doncic, he can form one of the most lethal one-two punches next season. Seth Curry and an emerging Jaden Hardy can provide further depth in the backcourt. Tim Hardaway Jr. is more of an off-guard, but depth charts project him as an SF.

Josh Green is a riveting young talent, but he has to prove that he can be a starting-level or six-man type Wing player. In the frontline, concerns are deep. The PG to PF positions look undersized, whereas after losing Christian Wood, the Center position looks even more vulnerable. Can these concerns haunt Jason Kidd once again?

Have the Dallas Mavericks not done enough?

The Mavs also showed interest in Buddy Hield, who is going to enter the last year of his four-year $94 million deal. However, as per Marc Stein, the deal may not manifest as both the Pacers and the Mavs appear reluctant. This move is also strange considering the scoring depth in the backcourt and once again bringing in an undersized player.

More than a Guard, the team desperately needs a high-yielding Center. The Mavs had terrible inside defense last season. Wood, Powell, and McGee were getting scored on in the paint regularly. These three didn’t do enough on the offensive end to cover the damages either, especially Powell and McGee. Powell has been the starting Center during a major chunk of the games. He provides strong screens, tough box-outs, and some decent rebounding. Scoring-wise, he isn’t much of a threat these days and rarely attempts shots.

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He usually plays around 15-20 minutes and is at best a backup Center. With Wood gone to the Lakers, who shared many minutes, Richuan Holmes comes into the picture.

Domantas Sabonis‘ arrival buried him in the Kings‘ rotation for the last couple of seasons. Last season, he didn’t even average 10 minutes a game. Just during the 2020-21 season, he averaged around 14 points and eight rebounds. Injuries have also hampered his career, but if he gets his touch back, a Pick-N-Roll and Pick-N-Pop style of play can be gold with Doncic and Kyrie at the helm. There is one more candidate for the starting spot.

Can the young talent deliver in the middle?

The starting spot may go to this season’s 12th pick Dereck Lively II, who is an athletic Center. The Mavs traded for him on the draft day more so due to his potential, because in college, he didn’t even average six points or six rebounds. However, he did much better during the Summer League and has kept on improving.

In this vein, talking to Marc Stein on 97.1 The Freak, coach Jason Kidd said, ”It’s up for grabs. I will start Lively with the big group and see how that goes.” He continued, ”These last couple of weeks, our rookies have taken jumps as I’ve talked to the coaching staff and Nico about starting Lively with Luka, Kai, and Grant”.

“Fit Is Greater Than the Talent”: Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving-Led Mavericks Get a Unique Review Before the 2023-24 Season

He added, “We’ll see how that goes. But I can say that we’ll probably start both rookies here early in camp and probably in one, if not both, games in Abu Dhabi, just to see how they handle the situation.” Can Lively nail the starting spot as a rookie?

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