Dallas Mavericks have found themselves in an early 3-9 hole, adding pressure to a season that has not started well.
A number of issues have already stacked up for the Mavs, and the recent dismissal of Nico Harrison has only added to the noise around the club.
Meanwhile, the team are still waiting on a couple of big names to return. Anthony Davis is sidelined with a calf strain, while Kyrie Irving continues his recovery from a torn ACL.
The Mavericks sit at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, and it will take something special to turn their season around.
Kendrick Perkins issues apology to Anthony Davis for fitness comments
‘AD’ has had a tough run since he joined Dallas. He spent the offseason recovering from surgery on his right eye, which left him unable to train for weeks.
And just as he was getting back into shape, the 32-year-old picked up a calf injury that sidelined him again.
It showed during training camp, and ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins was quick to criticise his conditioning.
Perkins later apologised after learning that Davis had been unable to train at all during his recovery. He said:
“Anthony Davis, he came in a training camp out of shape. And I would like to apologize to AD right now because I was very critical of him coming in out of shape in the training camp.
“The surgery that he had dealing with his eye, he was told for eight weeks that he couldn’t do absolutely nothing. So he couldn’t do anything.
“That still don’t take account that he should have been dieting doing what he needed to do for his eating habits, not to gain that weight, but he couldn’t do any basketball activities.
“He wasn’t able to do activities until a week before training camp.”
Kendrick Perkins criticises Klay Thompson
Klay Thompson’s start to the season has been one of the Mavericks’ biggest letdowns. His numbers have dropped significantly, and he has not found any real consistency.
The 35-year-old has already lost his starting spot, putting up just 7.4 points per game on 31.4 percent shooting from the field and only 26.7 percent from beyond the arc.
Perkins did not hold back, even suggesting that Thompson’s relationship with Megan Thee Stallion is adding unnecessary noise around the team.
“Outside of that, Klay Thompson is bringing some more noise to the organization.
“He’s with Megan Thee Stallion living his best life. You signed Klay. He’s not ***ing producing.”
If things do not turn around soon, it would not be surprising to see Dallas explore trade options for Thompson before the deadline.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
