The NBA season is quickly approaching, and we will soon find out how the Dallas Mavericks’ offseason will translate to the court.
Head coach Jason Kidd joined 97.1 The Freak in Dallas to talk about the upcoming season and addressed Luka Doncic’s leg injury, which occurred in February and has continued to bother him. Still, Kidd believes they are better equipped to handle it because of the added depth.
“I think, hopefully, as we go forward here he is gonna be ready to go,” Kidd told host Marc Stein on The Saturday Stein Line. “I presume that sometimes in our career, we’re not 100%, maybe we’re 99 or 95%. The more games you play, the longer your career; I think you can ask anyone, no one’s really 100%. But now, looking at our roster, hopefully, we don’t have to play him 40-plus minutes a night. With the depth that we have, I thought [general manager] Nico [Harrison] did an incredible job this summer.”
Doncic had an MRI conducted in March after sustaining the injury in a February 23 game against the San Antonio Spurs, and it revealed no damage. However, he has continued to experience pain and acknowledged it has been challenging to play through.
“It’s not okay,” he told the media at the World Cup earlier this summer. “At the same time, I have to prepare for one more game, and then for a whole season in the NBA.”
During his appearance, Kidd also discussed the challenges of playing preseason games in multiple countries, Kyrie Irving and Doncic’s chemistry, his early impressions and expectations of rookies Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper, and veteran addition Grant Williams, the difficulty of facing a summer without making the playoffs, and the overall state of the roster entering training camp.
The Mavericks begin training camp on Wednesday and play their first preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 5. The regular season schedule starts on October 25 against the San Antonio Spurs.
Players are required to report to camp on Tuesday
