The Dallas Mavericks defense of their 2011 NBA title is over after being swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder Saturday night. There was a lot said about how the Mavericks title defense was not an all-in proposition because owner Mark Cuban wanted to be a player in this summer’s free agency.
That is why they did not sign Tyson Chandler to a long-term deal, why they let J.J. Barea, Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson suffer similar fates (though Barea and Butler got paid, so maybe suffer is not the right word to use).
The Mavs face some tough situations this summer as well.
Many have written that the plan for the Mavs was to sign Deron Williams and Dwight Howard. Plan A is out the window, at least for this summer since Howard opted in to the final year of his contract. Williams is still a possibility though, which would mean the Mavs would have some tough decisions on Jason Kidd and Jason Terry.
Jeff Caplan with ESPN Dallas writes Kidd is leaving his options open, including hooking up with D-Will in Dallas OR Brooklyn and he also isn’t ruling out signing with his hometown Golden State Warriors.
“There has been some speculation that Kidd could return to his hometown of Oakland and play for the Golden State Warriors. Kidd said he’s aware of the speculation of a homecoming, but couched it by saying he will discuss teams with interest with his agent.”
Things did not go so well for the Warriors this season, but if they got Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut healthy and signed a couple of defensive-minded veterans, they could challenge for a lower playoff spot in the West next season.
Having Kidd either starting alongside Curry or backing him up would give the Warriors some backcourt size they do not have and Kidd could also be the perfect guy to teach Curry how to be a good defender without having good lateral foot speed.
Kidd was clearly non-commital on a homecoming, but if the Warriors hold on to their pick in the upcoming draft and even strike gold with a top three pick and they are smart in free agency, maybe they can convince Kidd that finishing his career where he was a high school and college legend would not be the worst idea.
