DALLAS -- Mavericks' general manager and president of basketball operations, Donnie Nelson, joined 105.3 The Fan Tuesday morning, two days after his team fell to the Clippers for the second straight year in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
This will be one of the most important offseasons of Nelson's more than 22 years in the Mavs' front office. The biggest problem for Dallas is that if they were to sign Tim Hardaway Jr. to an extension this summer, and Josh Richardson were to opt into the final year of his deal worth $11.6 million, then that would eliminate the Mavs' cap space.
That leaves the trade market, and if the Mavs want to make a significant upgrade to their roster, it'll have to come via trade of their most expensive player, Kristaps Porzingis. Whether the Mavs get something of value in return for KP or whether it's a salary dump, that's their best avenue to improvement should that scenario play out with Hardaway and Richardson.
But will the Mavs look to move Porzingis this offseason?
"We like the fit. There's no question that he's had to alter his game. From what his existence was in New York to what it is now, we like the direction things are going in. We've got to do a little bit better job of incorporating him," Nelson said on Shan and RJ.
That doesn't sound like a general manager who is ready to completely commit himself to Porzingis. But unless the Mavs lose out on Hardaway or Richardson surprisingly opts out of his deal, Dallas will likely be forced to move forward with Porzingis alongside Doncic for another season thanks to the big man's injury concerns and massive contract that runs through 2023-24.
So, how do they make it work moving forward? In Monday's exit interviews and in this morning's interview, Nelson said he believes the onus is on Doncic to get his teammates, namely Porzingis, more involved next season.
"If you're Luka, just put yourself in his tracks for a second. Here's a guy, at the age of 22, who's one of the top players in the league. As any competitor, you think that (if you have) the ball in your hands, whether it's making the pass or the shot, you've got the best chance to (win if you're making those decisions)," Nelson said.
"And when things grind to more of a halt in the playoffs and it's a slugfest possession by possession-type deal ... It's easy to ascertain that maybe Luka could have, and it's not just KP, could have done a little bit better job in terms of delegation. And I think that's part of the maturing process. I think if you look at any great player in the early days (they want) to make every play and score every basket. But I think as you see Luka mature, he'll understand him getting 15 assists is going to be as important to us winning and involving his teammates. And I think that's just a part of him growing older and wiser."
To Doncic and Porzingis' credit, they said all the right things in Monday's exit interviews.
"I mean, it's great," Doncic said about his fit with Porzingis. "He's a great player. Uh, I don't know what we're going to do next year with the whole roster. I think we have a couple of free agents. In the NBA, every year you have new teammates, so I don't know what's going to happen. But he's a great player. I think we've got to use him more."
Regardless of whatever tweaks the Mavs are able to make to the roster this offseason, it's looking more and more likely that Porzingis will be back, so the organization is doing whatever it can to make this duo work.
Nelson also discussed the upcoming offseason and much more. Listen to the audio below or watch the video above.
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