Getty Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks and Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards.
After the departure of Jalen Brunson, the Dallas Mavericks have gone back to the drawing board to find options to better compliment superstar Luka Doncic. Spencer Dinwiddle will likely move into Brunson’s secondary ball handler role, and be relied upon to create shots for his teammates and himself.
Christian Wood was recently acquired from Houston and will give the Mavericks more options with a skilled big man that has been missing since Kristaps Porzingis left last season. Tim Hardaway Jr. is slated to return after missing a majority of last season having suffered a foot fracture.
The Mavs’ impressive run to the Conference Finals last season was a bit surprising, especially having steamrolled the Suns in Game 7 of the Semifinals. With stars like Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, and others expected back, the conference isn’t getting any easier.
The key to the Mavs success has mainly been the ability of Doncic’s teammates to knock down the three with more regularity. A large part of their production comes mainly from the three-point line. As the saying goes, you live by the three, you die by the three.
Former Mavericks Tweets Cause a Buzz
Last year, Jae Crowder played for Phoenix and was a key player in the previous season’s run to the 2021 Finals.
He was a starter in 67 regular season games averaging 9.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and almost 2 assists a game. He shot just below 35% from the perimeter. With $10.2 million remaining on the last year of his contract, he may already be signaling that he wants a change of scenery.
On August 1, he made a cryptic tweet about how things change.
CHANGE IS INEVITABLE.. GROWTH IS OPTIONAL.!! I BELIEVE ITS TIME FOR A CHANGE… I WANNA CONTINUE GROWING.!
Perhaps, the ugly loss to the Mavericks last season makes him rethink about playing in Arizona next season. Or maybe, we’re all just reading too much into this, and he is referring to something that isn’t even related to basketball. Regardless, he made his intentions known with his most current social media behavior.
The @Mavs_FFL fan Twitter account responded to Crowder’s tweet with a picture of Crowder in a Mavs uniform. Crowder liked the reply, seemingly liking the idea of him returning to play in Dallas.
Crowder would be a good fit playing alongside Doncic. The classic 3-and-D player in today’s league, the 10-year veteran has made a killing by being a nuisance to opponents on defense while spacing the floor and allowing star teammates to operate and create shots. The Mavs would be an ideal fit for his skill set.
Crowder Previously Played for the Mavericks
Crowder spent the first two and half years of his career playing for Mark Cuban in Dallas. Averaging under 20 minutes per game, he isn’t the player he is now. But he probably understands the culture of Dallas and sees himself helping the team win now.
After playing for six other different teams, he might be looking to return to make it a full circle in his NBA career. The Mavericks’ wing depth is not that deep at this point, so adding Crowder could be a viable option.
Crowder still has one more year in his contract, so the Mavs would need to orchestrate a trade for his services.