Dallas, TX
ESPN Personality Has Mavericks as a Top Five Team in NBA
ESPN personality Brian Windhorst recently did his NBA team rankings, and the defending Western champion Dallas Mavericks were amongst his top five entering the 2024-25 season. The other teams on the list were not surprising.
The defending champion Boston Celtics took the top spot in the ranking after a dominant season and five-game Finals victory over Dallas. Given they return all of their key players essentially, Boston’s spot as the top team in the NBA will remain unchanged until further notice.
Second is the Oklahoma City Thunder, whose addition of Alex Caruso in the offseason in exchange for Josh Giddey as well as their signing of Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein makes them a formidable opponent in the West.
READ MORE: Who Would The Mavericks Protect In An Expansion Draft?
Coming in third is the Denver Nuggets, who just re-signed guard Jamal Murray to a 4-year, $208 million max extension to keep their corps together. Despite losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the offseason, center Nikola Jokic still looms large as one of the best players in the league.
In fourth place is the team Dallas defeated in the Western Conference Finals, the Minnesota Timberwolves, whose corps of Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Naz Reid gives them a great chance to once again make a run at the title.
Fifth is the Dallas Mavericks, with the star-laden backcourt of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving will once again help the team compete for a chance to repeat as the best team in the West.
There are a few interesting things about this list. The first is that four of the five teams on the list are from the Western Conference, even though the defending champion Celtics hail from the East. The fact that Dallas defeated two of the four teams ahead of them during their playoff run last season also stands out because it demonstrates that the Mavericks’ run was no fluke.
It is a bit surprising that Dallas isn’t higher on the list, but it’s still a good sign that they’re getting some level of respect after last year’s performance. Hopefully, the Mavericks end up higher on the postseason rankings.
READ MORE: NBA Experts Predict Contract Extensions For Mavericks Guards
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Dallas, TX
Dallas Cowboys 2026 NFL Draft debate heats up
Jeff Kolb and Sam Gannon welcome Cowboys insiders Clarence Hill (All City Dallas) and Calvin Watkins (Dallas Morning News) for a hilarious breakdown of the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. Giving insight, arguments, and plenty of laughs as two of the best Dallas Cowboys writers in the business go head-to-head on what Dallas should do next.
Dallas, TX
New video of Lake Dallas explosion draws focus on order decades ago to remove old plastic pipes
Dallas, TX
Dallas Mavericks Owners Might Be Making Big Mistake in Search for New GM
The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
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